It's Kind Of A Funny Story
by xiiluvyuhhx
Summary: James Potter was a prat. I was perfect. He loved me. I hated him. He was annoying. I had a boyfriend. Potter hexed my boyfriend. I hexed Potter. How did we end up together? Well, it's kind of a funny story. James/Lily
1. It's Kind Of A Funny Story

New story, yay? Yall will all probably hate me for distracting myself from Poison and Wine. Oh well.  
Let me tell you a little about this story. Yes, it's another one of those cliche James/Lily stories. I love James and Lily though, so who cares? I hope I can change up the plot a little bit and make it a little different. It will probably end up being a Novella, and I've just finished writing chapter five.

Merry Christmas Eve, and I hope yall like it! It'll get more interesting, I promise. Everything starts of a little bit boring, doesn't it? Like school. Except school stays boring...

* * *

You know, I didn't always hate James Potter.

Actually, we used to be best friends in First Year. How, you may ask? Well, it's kind of a funny story.

We were eleven, on the Hogwarts Express for the first time and about to begin our first year of magical training. As you know, most eleven-year-olds are kind of gross. Most of them had very stringy hair, pit stains, and jacked-up teeth. But not me. And not the Marauders.

My teeth were perfect, straight and white. My hair was perfect, shiny and red.

I was perfect, or so I thought.

There were four other eleven-year-olds who fell into the perfection category with me.

I'll give you four guesses as to who those other four were.

That's right. Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, JFK, and Merlin.

HAHA. Just kidding. I like to joke. Hard to believe, right? I, Lily Evans, like to joke.

Preposterous.

No but really, the other four were the exact boys you're thinking of: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. That day on the Hogwarts Express, they became friends. Not Marauders yet, but friends. And even at the age of eleven, they had been highly attractive.

"Can we sit here?" I had asked, poking my head into a random compartment. Severus Snape, my best friend at that point in time, was tugging on the sleeve of my robe. He didn't want me to talk to these boys.

A boy with messy black hair and glasses had nodded and scooted over. A boy with long dark hair in the corner kept staring at me. It had freaked me out.

That's how I had met the Marauders. There was no yelling or hair-ripping involved. I became close to James that year because Sirius Black had a crush on me.

It was just a crush, and nothing more, and I was flattered. I was only eleven, so I honestly wasn't interested in a relationship, but at that point Sirius was already taller than half the boys in the Third Year and quite the heartthrob.

James and Sirius were attached at the hip. I had a small crush on Sirius as well, so we were together a lot. And wherever Sirius was, James was. At the Gryffindor table, I sat beside Sirius and James sat across from me and next to my friend Ellen. Remus sat on my other side, and Peter across from him.

I thought James was funny. He made me laugh until my eleven-year-old sides ached. I grew to realize that I spent more time with James than I did with Sirius. Sirius knew it, too. We stopped liking each other. We were only First Years, after all.

By the end of the first semester, I knew a lot about James and he knew a lot about me. I knew his mother was named Joanne and his father was named Phillip, and they both worked for the Ministry of Magic. I knew his favorite Quidditch team was the Magpies and his favorite ice cream flavor was Double Chocolate Chunk. I knew he had a passion for Transfiguration and had a barn owl named Kenny.

He knew I was Muggle-born and had a sister named Petunia. He knew I didn't know very much about Quidditch, so he explained it all to me so that it made sense. I started to follow the Appleby Arrows. He was the only one who knew I had seven freckles on my left shoulder that made a smiley face. He knew I loved Charms and had a tabby cat named Tabs. He told me I was very good at making up original names and I had hit him.

Sirius hadn't even known I'd had a cat, much less about my freckles.

Throughout the year, I watched James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter grow to become best of friends. They pulled pranks together, and came up with a name for themselves: the Marauders. By January they had more detentions individually than all of Gryffindor House put together.

I had friends, too, of course. I had Ellen and Leigh and Brooke, plus my other two roommates who I didn't talk to much. And I had Sev.

Sev was sorted into Slytherin. The Marauders hated him. I didn't know why.

But I do now.

At the end of First Year, I told all of my friends to write to me. That summer, I got letter from my girlfriends and the Marauders, but mostly from James. It was like a nonstop conversation. He was well on the way to becoming my best friend, and Sev wasn't happy.

That summer something happened – I don't exactly remember what – but James stopped writing to me all of a sudden. Sev told me to forget about it, but I couldn't. We returned to school for our Second Year, and James was an absolute git. He had skyrocket upward, and he was quite the handsome twelve-year-old. His ego was so big it kept him company, and he got his first girlfriend. She was a Hufflepuff in our year named Susie. I liked her, but not him. James and I didn't talk much that year.

Second Year, Remus and I became friends. I hadn't really talked to him very much the previous year, and I felt bad about it. One night when I saw him sitting alone in the common room looking slightly ill, I went up to him and asked him what was wrong.

"Oh, it's nothing," he had said. "It's just that my mother is ill, and I'm terribly worried."

I had proceeded to comfort him and offered him some chocolate. He took it hastily and all but shoved it into his mouth. I had laughed and told him to calm down, I had more.

By March of my Second Year, I had discovered that James had a small crush on me. I was confused with this knowledge, and angry: _he _was the one who had stopped talking to _me_. And now he liked me? I hadn't known what to think, so I just let it be and pretended like I didn't know about it, nor did I care.

In May, James asked me out for the first time. It was cute, since we were twelve, but I had managed to stutter out an apologetic "no." My face was bright red. I didn't want a boyfriend. I was mad at James, and he was annoying and conceited. Besides, I had needed to do well in my classes. I had big dreams, even in my Second Year.

He asked me out again three days to the end of school. I had said no again, more sternly this time. James hadn't seemed bothered.

Remus and I wrote quite a bit that summer, and I went to Brooke's house for two weeks with Leigh and Ellen.

Third Year passed rather uneventfully. James asked me out nearly once a month, and each time I declined, my responses growing harsher and harsher. I had a crush on Remus. Peter got a girlfriend. She was a First Year.

Fourth Year, Remus and I dated. We went to Hogsmeade together once, and then decided that our relationship was too weird and we broke up. James asked me out about once a week.

Fifth Year, Remus and I became Prefects. It was good, because Remus and I worked well together. The Marauders still ran around and wreaked havoc on the school, but I sometimes let them slide when I saw them in the hallway on my patrols. James asked me out about once a day.

He was still the only one who knew about my freckles.

In December of my Fifth Year, I dated a Sixth Year Ravenclaw named John Schroeder. He was my first serious relationship. We held hands in the hallway and kissed behind tapestries. James hexed John. I hexed James. We both got detention: my first, his four-hundred and eighteenth.

My first detention was spent with Professor Slughorn, who adored both me and James. As much as I hated to admit it, the Marauders were brilliant and charming, and all the teachers loved them. We didn't do our detention. We went into Professor Slughorn's office and drank butterbeer. I had fun. It reminded me of the times James and I had when we were best friends, when I knew the real James, not the egotistical one.

James didn't ask me out that night, but he did ask me about John.

We were climbing the staircase out of the dungeons in silence when he sprung it on me.

"Evans, what do you see in him?" he had asked.

"What are you talking about, Potter?" I had said, stopping and putting my hands on my hips.

"Schroeder. Why are you with him?"

"Because he makes me happy," I snapped.

"I can make you happy, Evans."

I had snorted and stuck my nose in the air. I had thought I was too good for people like James Potter. I had thought I was perfect.

I now wish sometimes I could go back in the past to times like these and watch James, see the sincerety in his eyes or the heartbreak on his face. But no amount of magic could transport me back to my First Year, or to my Fifth, or even to my Sixth. I just had to live with my guilt and remember what I could.

"No, you can't," I had replied. "You can't do anything except make me miserable!"

"I don't mean to!"

I had rolled my eyes, thinking he was just being an idiot like usual. But he had meant it, and somewhere, deep down, I knew it.

"All you do is bother me and ask me out. You don't even like me!"

"How do you know that?" James had asked angrily. "How can you be sure?"

"Because I just know!" I had exclaimed in typical fifteen-year-old fashion. I was perfect. I knew everything. I had known that James hadn't liked me, he just liked to annoy me. He had girls hanging on to his every word, Sixth and Seventh Years, as well. James had it all. Great friends, a great family, money, brilliance, girls, everything.

But he didn't have me.

I had thought it was a chase. It wasn't, but I hadn't known that. I still don't know that.

"You don't know anything!" James had shot back. "I love you!"

I was rattled. "You don't," I had said. "Don't say that, you're such a prat!"

"I love you, Lily."

He called me Lily. It was weird. He looked serious. It was weird. "Stop saying that! It's freaking me out."

I had run up the staircase and hid behind a statue on the second floor. Somehow Remus found me (I'll never know how they always seem to know where everyone is, all the time), and talked to me about it. I told him James was an arrogant twit and I hated him. Remus accepted my answer with a sigh and we walked back to Gryffindor Tower together.

Moving on to the summer leading into my Sixth Year, I went to John's house for a week and met his family. His older sister Natalie took me shopping, and I changed my style around. I bought more bright skirts and colorful shirts. I liked it. So did all my friends. John didn't. We got into a huge fight about outward apperances and our lack of communication and he even yelled at me about James.

"If you think Potter is actually a part of my life, maybe we shouldn't be together!" I had said, angrily grabbing my suitcase and heading to the front door. "You're a jerk, John Schroeder! We're over, and don't every try talking to me again or I'll get Potter to hex your face into the next mellinium!"

I took the Knight Bus home. When I clambered on from John's house, I was surprised to see Sirius Black sitting on one of the beds by himself. I cautiously sat on the bed across from him.

"Hey, Black," I had said. "What brings you here?"

"I'm heading to the Potter's," he had answered, swishing his hair out of his grey eyes.

"Oh. Cool." I probably should have said something like "groovy," which was a word that was in style in the Muggle world, but I thought that was stupid, so I didn't follow the trend. Hogwarts didn't really follow the fads of the Muggle world, anyway.

"James really does like you, you know," Sirius had told me.

"I know," I answered, surprising myself. I brushed my hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"Why won't you give him a chance?"

I thought about it for a moment and smiled. "Tell him to mature a little. Stop hexing people in the hallway, and stop asking me out every day. We'll see what happens."

Sirius grinned. "I'll tell him, but I'm not gauranteeing anything."

I didn't reply. I looked out the window and tried not to throw up as I watched buildings and mailboxes leap out of the way. I had never liked things with much motion, and I still don't.

Even though I still support the Appleby Arrows, and James is still the only one who knows about my freckles.

My Sixth Year was even less interesting than my Fifth. My classes were harder, and Sev and I didn't talk at all. I glared at him in the corridors, and he glared back. I was fine with that. I didn't miss his company.

That year, I figured out Remus was a werewolf. I had accepted it without any tears or drama or anything like that, but I was worried about him. I was also upset that he never told me and kept lying.

"Your mother was ill, honestly," I scoffed, remembering his lie. I smiled slightly so he knew that I was joking.

He beamed. I think Remus was glad to know that I knew. It was one less thing for him to have to worry about.

"It's hard sometimes, but it's good that James, Sirius, and Peter can help me," Remus had said, looking into the fireplace in the empty common room. "And now it's good that you can help me, Lily."

I had grinned at him and gave him some chocolate.

James still asked me out, at least three times a day. He had new tactics now, though, such as giving me flowers or trapping me in corners or asking me right after I was done yelling my sodding head off at him.

He was an idiot. He still is.

I hated him. I still do.

* * *

It'd be great if yall would review! I'll probably post chater two in a few days. Please enjoy the holidays and keep Christ in Christmas! :)


	2. Sporks

Merry belated Christmas, and happy birthday to my wonderful Mommy! You may find a few grammar mistakes since I typed this on the FF docx editor and no spell check, but I hope it's okay. Enjoy!

* * *

Needless to say, James and I were far from best friends now. I hated him. He was obsessed with me. Nothing more could or would ever happen.

It's October of my Seventh Year. I'm Head Girl, which wasn't much of a surprise... except James is Head Boy.

I hate my life.

And James. Potter. Whatever.

I'm not even sure how that happened. Potter wasn't even a Prefect! He doesn't know the first thing about leadership, or hard work or anything even remotely similar! Dumbledore must have been on meth or something. It should have been me and Remus, or me and that Ravenclaw bloke Alexander Forrest. Not Potter!

"So, Evans, what's on the adgenda for today?" Potter asked, bounding up beside me.

"Go away," I grumbled.

"No, I don't think I will."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Maybe not right now... how about next Friday night?"

I wanted to punch him.

"Go fall in a hole."

"As long as you're there!" Potter said in a sing-song voice.

I stopped walking and put a hand on my hip. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes and ducked into the girl's lavatory, like I usually did. I'm surprised Potter hasn't followed me in yet, actually. But it's only a matter of time. I locked myself in a stall just in case.

"Lily, are you in here?" I heard a voice say.

"Ellen!" I said, unlocking the door and coming out to greet her. "Where have you been?"

"Brooke and I went to the library to work on that Arithmacy essay."

"Oh," I said, washing my hands for good measure and grabbing my books. "I finished that aready."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "We know."

I smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear. Ellen opened the bathroom door and I followed her back into the corridor.

"Where's Leigh, then?"

"With Remus, of course."

I laughed. "Of course."

Leigh and Remus had been spending quite a bit of time together. It was adorable, actually.

"I passed Potter on my way here," Ellen said. "Is that why you were hiding in the bathroom?"

"I wasn't _hiding_," I said indignantly.

"Of course you weren't."

I opened my mouth to retort but I was cut off.

"Oi! Evans, Carte!" Black yelled, jogging down the hallway to fall into step beside us. "We're having a party tomorrow night, you in?"

"Black, tomorrow is a Thursday," I said slowly.

Black blinked at me. "Yes, and?"

"It's a school night."

"Oh, get that stick out of your arse, Evans," Black said, laughing and swishing his hair out of his face. "Live a little!"

"I'll live easier once I don't have to see your ugly face every day."

Okay, so that was a lie. Sirius Black was very good looking. All of them were, always had been. I mean, they had to be good looking if _I_ had dated two of them already, right?

Allow me to explain the Marauders in a nutshell.

Sirius Black had that look about him that was very rugged and rough-around-the-edges. His eyes were a troubled, stormy grey, and his smile was sideways and perfect. He had stubble around his chin and long dark hair that I'm sure took longer to style than mine did.

I didn't have a huge problem with Sirius. I called him Black just because it was a habit, but it wasn't out of spite. He was annoying and conceited, yes, but he was hysterical and a huge romantic, which is what really got me. There had been multiple occasions where Black came up to me and asked me to help him out with some girl. I was usually eager to help, as were Ellen, Leigh, and Brooke.

Remus Lupin, the werewolf, was the rational one of the Marauders. His hair was kept short and he had bright blue eyes that Leigh gushed about every day. He was my favorite. He was caring and smart and athletic and funny. He was the only Marauder that I didn't call by last name.

Peter Pettigrew wasn't bad either. He was short and maybe not as toned, but he was still attractive, if I say so myself. He had blonde hair that was shaved so short it looked like fuzz, and small green eyes that were set a bit too far apart on his face. I didn't really know much about him. He wasn't around much. He was with a Hufflepuff Sixth Year with bad acne. Her name was Cindie. Pettigrew was funny, I supposed. But weren't they all?

Then there was Potter. James. Whatever. I called him Potter. He was Head Boy (somehow), Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Obsessive Magpies Fangirl. Ex-best friend and Hogwarts Heartthrob. I hated him for it. His hair was messy and black and he wore glasses. His eyes were brown and sparkly, his teeth were perfect and his smile was bright and careless. He had a dimple on his right cheek. He had laugh lines on the corners of his eyes. He had to-die-for muscles and I wanted to push him off of something tall.

He pissed me off.

"Another party?" Ellen said skeptically. "You just had one!"

"Yeah, and that was two weeks ago!" Black said, laughing. "It's been far too long."

Ellen rolled her eyes, her short brown hair bobbing around her shoulders. "Whatever you say, Black."

"That's the spirit, love!" Black grinned. "Now I've got to go spread the word to other people who are worthy... be sure to tell Lake and Cowen!"

Black bounded off to go bother someone else and Ellen and I walked slowly back to the common room. It was lunchtime, and after lunch was our free period, so we usually put or books away in our dormitories beforehand so we didn't have to carry them around.

Allow me to explain to you my friends in a nutshell.

Ellen Carte. Her brown hair was short, coming to a stop right above her shoulders, and her eyes were a vibrant blue that always sparkled with laughter. She was super-sweet, wouldn't ever hurt a fly. She didn't talk much, but when she did, it was like Sass-Overload. She was so... _sassy._ It was hysterical. She was a Chaser on the House Quidditch team. She was good friends with Potter, and didn't understand why I hated him so much. I didn't even try to explain.

Brooke Lake. She was the friendliest. She talks to everyone and anyone, and her personality is so big it could fill up a room. Her hair was sandy-brown, long and curly, and she had a black owl named Larry. Brooke has broken the hearts of so many blokes she can't even keep count anymore. She was always in trouble, and she had a problem keeping her thoughts to herself.

Leigh Cowen. Her eyes were the prettiest baby blue I've ever seen, and her face was perfectly clear and tan. Her hair was so blond it was almost white, and it fell to about her mid-back. She was the smartest, or at least the most studious. She actually did all her homework, which was more than I could say for the rest of us. She loathed Sirius Black with a burning passion. It made me laugh.

Ellen and I reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and told her the password (_tobulious_). We ran up to the dormitories and threw our books on our beds. Brooke was lounging on her own four-poster, clearly waiting for us to arrive. Her robes were off and strewn across Leigh's bed.

"Took you long enough," Brooke said, grinning.

"Sorry, we ran into Black on the way here," I said, walking to my dresser to brush my hair.

"Oh, by the way," Ellen said, "party tomorrow night."

"Marauders again?" Brooke asked, slipping on her robes.

"Yep."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you'd think it was just an excuse to get drunk and look down girl's dresses."

"Um, isn't it?"

Brooke thought about it and shrugged. I put my brush down and tucked my bangs behind my ear, glancing at myself in the mirror. My hair was long and red, and took little effort in the morning. It was perfectly straight all by itself, and the only thing I ever did to it was use strawberry-scented shampoo. My eyes were a peculiar emerald, almond-shaped, and lined by a line of thick dark eyelashes. I didn't need make-up. None of us did.

The only Seventh Year Gryffindor girls who wore make-up were our other two rommates, Heather and Meg. I liked Meg, but Heather... ugh. Drama Queen. Don't even get me started on her.

Meg's make-up was natural, normal. She wasn't orange. She wasn't fake. She was pretty. She dated Black last year, and they went out for a while. I think she was his longest relationship ever. That's quite a feat.

Heather, however, was the opposite. She wore so much make-up, all the time, and all I wanted to do was pour a bucket of water on her just to see if she'd melt. She was an idiot. I wasn't sure how she ended up in Gryffindor. She wasn't brave. She wasn't loyal - she has about eight boyfriends at a time. She wore so much perfume it made me want to strangle myself (or Potter, just because he'd always be around to strangle if necessary). She thought she was awesome, and she wasn't, and I wanted to slap her in the face and tell her she was ugly.

But I was too nice for that. Unless it was Potter, of course. And, no worries, I tell him he's ugly just about every day.

"Ready to go?" Ellen asked me. I nodded and followed her and Brooke out the door and down to the Great Hall.

We took our seats towards the end of the table. I grabbed a roll and shoved it into my mouth, starved since I skipped breakfast to finish my Potions essay. I felt like an idiot for forgetting about it.

Ellen, Brooke, and I discussed the upcoming Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match, the first of the season. Of course Gryffindor would win. Potter wouldn't allow them to lose. If there's one thing I had to admire about that twit, it was his drive.

"Talking about me?" said a voice behind me.

I felt Potter slide into the bench beside me. I rolled my eyes and drew my plate closer to me. If all else fails, protect the food.

"Sod off, Potter," I mumbled through my third roll.

I'm surprised I'm not fat, actually. I eat like a sodding _Marauder _(which is quite the insult in my opinion), and I don't exercise, yet I was still pencil thin. I guess it all went to my boobs. Those suckers were quite large, I must say.

"You like me here," Potter said. I could hear the smirk in his voice, and I wanted to sock him in the mouth.

"Oh yes, I like you there just as much as I like my sister's new boyfriend."

"So I'll stay, then?"

"Your sister has a new boyfriend?" Brooke asked, popping a strawberry into her mouth.

I rolled my eyes and stabbed a green bean. "Yeah, his name's Vernon. I think he's part walrus."

"What's the plural of walrus?" Black said, sitting down next to Brooke, across from Potter.

"Walrusi?" supplied Potter.

"You guys are idiots," I said. "It's walruses."

"You sure about that, Evans?" Black asked with a wink. I wanted to throw up.

"Yes," I answered, grimacing.

"Oi," said Potter, "Padfoot, mate, stop winking at my lady!" He attempted to put his arm around me.

My wand was out before he had even finished his sentence. "Touch me one more time and you'll regret ever breathing," I growled.

"Yes ma'am," Potter said, removing his arm and smirking.

"And I'm not your lady."

"Not yet you aren't."

I stashed my wand back into my robes before a teacher could catch me with it out.

"Go out with me, Evans?"

"I'm about to punch you."

"I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

"If I were you, I'd take that as a 'run-for-my-life-before-I-get-killed.'"

"Aw," Potter guffawed, "that's no fun."

I sighed and returned my attention to my plate. Leigh and Remus joined us at the table, and then Pettigrew. Black and Brooke began discussing the importance of sporks and Leigh and Remus were talking about the Transfiguration essay. Ellen argued with Peter about the Magpies-Tornadoes match coming up that weekend, and if the Magpies were involved, naturally Potter would include himself in the conversation.

I sat in the middle of all these conversations and quietly stuffed my face. As much as I disliked the Marauders (sans Remus), they always joined us for meals and hung out with us in the common room. They were good company, I supposed, but they were so annoying and mischevious that it was hard to enjoy their presence.

I loaded more mashed potatoes onto my plate and drenched them in gravy. I picked up my spoon and began eating, hoping to enjoy my potatoes in peace.

No such luck.

"You eat your mashed potates with a spoon, too, Evans!" said Potter excitedly. I groaned loudly. Potter picked up his own spoon with a flourish and stuck it in front of my face as though it were a piece of rare jewlery. "It's true love."

"Lots of people eat mashed potatoes with spoons, Potter," I said, grinding my teeth together.

"No, most people eat them with a fork."

"Maybe you need a spork!" Black suggested cheerily, punching his fist in the air.

Brooke laughed.

I didn't.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you all had a good Christmas, because I did. Today a miracle happened, and I can feel God changing not only my life but the lives of those around me! He is so amazing.

Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed and gave this story a chance (ALLY, xXDragonSlayerXx, and TheOneBehindItAll), and I also thank everyone who has favored or alerted this story (who I do not know of because FF doesn't send me emails anymore? but that may be because I have 6000+ emails in my inbox from FF alone..)

And please tell me your thoughts in your review! Thank you!


	3. PeePee and Cindie Lou Who

The song "Dramamine" by Modest Mouse reminds me of those DraMione fics. Maybe because Dramamine and DraMione look kind of smiliar.  
No?  
Okay. Nevermind.

Have I posted a disclaimer for this yet? JKR OWNS HARRY POTTER

* * *

The next day of classes passed by quicker than I hoped.

After Herbology, Potter asked me to be his date for the party that night. I told him no without even thinking about it.

He pouted. "Why?"

"Because I don't want to and I hate you," I replied.

"Okay, okay," Potter said. "Maybe going to the party together isn't a good idea."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Maybe dinner Saturday night would be better?"

I rolled my eyes and ducked into the nearest bathroom.

Before I knew it, classes that day were over, and the girls and I were in our dorm trying to decide what to wear.

"Is this a casual party?" Leigh asked, holding up a dress and looking at in in the mirror. "Does anybody know?"

"Does anybody ever know?" Ellen said, putting on lipgloss.

I finished putting on my mascara and inserted my opinion. "I'm wearing a white dress."

"It's October."

"With a brown belt?"

Ellen laughed. "Do whatever you want. You're the one with the best fashion sense here."

I smiled. Thank you, Natalie Schroeder, for my style. The dress I chose was flowy and white. It had a flattering boat neck lined with white jewels, and I wrapped a small brown belt around my middle to accentuate my waist. I put on some brown gladiator sandals and sat on my bed as I waited for my friends to finish.

Leigh had settled on a purple cotton dress with flowers on it, while Ellen had opted on jeans and a pink blouse. Brooke was wearing a white denim miniskirt and a fitted blue shirt.

"We all ready?" I asked. The girls all nodded and we made our way down to the common room.

It was packed. There were people everywhere, talking and dancing and laughing. A Fourth Year was mixing the music, and doing a pretty good job as far as I could tell. Other Fourth Years were serving the drinks.

I wandered over to the drinks and asked for a water.

"Come on, Evans, that's no fun!" someone said. I turned around to give Potter a condescending look.

"My apologies for being responsible, Potter," I said. "You're Head Boy, you should be at least semi-responsible yourself."

"I am."

I raised my eyebrows. "Right."

Potter smirked. It was annoying. "Really. Haven't you noticed we've only pulled two pranks so far this year?"

"We've been in school for a month and a half."

"I don't hex Slytherins anymore." Potter paused. "Unless it's Snevillus. Then I can't pass up the opportunity."

I rolled my eyes and Potter ruffled the back of his hair.

"Stop that," I snapped.

"What?"

"Messing up your hair like that."

"Why, does it turn you on?"

I almost gagged. "No. I think it's ridiculous. You don't need to make yourself look like you -"

"Dance with me, Evans?"

"What?" The question caught me off guard. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to and I hate you." Obviously.

"You always say that."

"Yes, and?"

"You don't mean it."

I spluttered for a moment. "Excuse you, Potter, I know you think you're great but you can't go off telling me what I do and don't mean -"

"Dance with me."

"No."

"What else do you have to do? Stand over here alone and watch while you sip your water?"

I frowned. I hated when he was right.

I hated him in general.

He set his cup down and held out his hand. I stared at it.

"Come on, Evans."

I looked at his eyes. They were sparkling at me. I wanted to gorge them off his face: they were far too pretty for someone so moronic.

Groaning to myself, I put my cup beside Potter's and took his hand, knowing I'd regret this later.

He grinned and led me to the dance floor, where people were coupling up and swaying back and forth.

Potter put his hands on my waist and I linked mine around his neck. He was a surprisingly good dancer.

"Where are the couches?" I asked him.

He smirked. "It's a Marauder secret."

I rolled my eyes. "You seem to have plenty of those."

Potter smiled. Like an actual smile, not his usual smirk. It was weirdly adorable.

I felt my cheeks tinge red. Did I really just think that? BAD LILY, BAD.

"What all do you know?" Potter asked. "I mean, I know you know about Moony's Furry Little Problem -"

"Oh, that's what you call it!" I said, laughing. "I always wondered what you were talking about when you said that. I thought Remus had an ill-behaved rabbit or something."

Potter chuckled. "That's what we want you to think."

I smiled. "I also know about your Invisibility Cloak."

Potter swore. "How do you know about that?"

"I saw you use it one time while on my Patrols in Fifth Year."

"You've known since Fifth Year?" Potter exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged. "It didn't seem important."

"Hold on a second," Potter said. "If you saw us use it once, why didn't you turn us in, or get us in trouble?"

I thought about it, my eyebrows pulling together in confusion. "That's a good question. I don't really remember."

Potter opened his mouth to reply, when there was a loud _bang!_ and suddenly Peter Pettigrew was standing on top of a table. The music stopped and everyone looked over.

"Everybody listen up!" Pettigrew said loudly, catching the attention of anyone who hadn't been looking at him before. He was clearly drunk out of his mind.

Beside me, Potter groaned and hit himself in the forehead with his palm. He repeated this action several times.

"I want to take this time to announce my love for my girlfriend, Cindie," Pettigrew continued. His words were slightly slurred. He reached down for a moment and pulled his little girlfriend up onto the table with him. Fumbling around in his robes for a moment, Pettigrew extracted a box and knelt down on one knee. "Cindie Louise Whorton, I love you very, very much. Will you marry me?"

Most of the partygoers awwwed and I resisted the urge to blow chunks all over the floor. Cindie Lou Who - seriously, how could I _not_ think of that when the bird's hair is in braided pigtails like that - screamed and nodded vigoriously.

"Oh, my PeePee!" she squealed. She launched herself at Pettigrew and they fell off the table and onto the floor. I'm sure it had hurt Pettigrew's back, but he didn't seem to mind since Cindie Lou Who was straddling him and they were sucking face.

I was a bit preoccupied with the fact that Cindie's pet name for Peter was "PeePee."

Nasty. Couldn't she have thought up something a little bit better? I mean, I know my tabby cat is named Tabs and all, but this was a real person. PeePee. PeePee Peter Pettigrew. PeePee Pettigrew and his Whoville girlie. Ha, ha. Ha.

The music came back on and I looked around. I saw Black standing with his face in his hands. Brooke was beside him (had they been dancing together?) laughing her arse off, either at PeePee or at Black. Or both. Remus and Leigh were sitting together on a couch that had been shoved to the side. Remus has his eyebrows raised and Leigh looked as though nothing of importance had just passed.

"Um," I said, laughing slightly, "what just happened?"

"Don't want to talk about it," Potter mumbled.

"Did you know he was going to do that?"

Potter swallowed loudly and nodded. He appeared mortified.

"Did you know Cindie called him 'PeePee?'"

He nodded again and I burst out laughing.

"Stop laughing," Potter said, trying to sound cross but failing.

"I can't," I giggled. "I'm imagining you at PeePee's wedding. What will you be, the Maid of Honor?"

"Evans," Potter groaned. There was laughter in his eyes.

"I can be funny, too, Potter," I said. I started walking away. The slow song was over.

"I know."

"Do you?"

Potter reached out and grabbed me around my waist, pulling me towards him. "Yep. I know everything about you."

I was too close. One dance - yes that was fine, whatever - but this? I wasn't comfortable with this. Potter smelled really good. It was outdoors-y and man-ish and distinctly _James_. Too bad I hated his guts.

I shoved him in the chest and he let me go. "That's kind of creepy, Potter."

"Gimme a chance, Evans. Go out with me." He ruffled his hair with a smirk.

I felt myself flush as anger rippled through me. "And to think, I thought you were actually being _normal_ for once tonight. You hadn't asked me out the whole night and you were being yourself instead of some egotistical, arrogant prat. I like that James. Not the complete _twat_ who's obsessed with himself. That's Potter. I hate him."

"If that's what you want, I can change -" Potter reached out for me again, and I danced out of his grasp.

"Save it, Potter!" I said loudly.

"What do you want from me, Evans!"

"I want James! I want my best friend!"

"Your best friend?" Potter laughed. "He disappeared six years ago when you sent Snevillus to tell him you never wanted to talk to him again. That's where your best friend went."

"What are you talking about? I never did that!"

"Yes you did!" Potter said. "Summer going into Second Year. Snevillus came to my house and told me you hated me and never wanted to see me again -"

"So that's why you stopped writing to me!" I exclaimed. "I had been telling Severus about you all summer and I suppose he was sick of it!"

"So you never told him to do that?"

"No! I never knew he did that."

"What a jerk."

"You're a jerk," I shot back.

Potter smirked and I wanted to kill him.

I couldn't believe Severus did that. Was he jealous? Of what? That I had a new best friend? And why hadn't that ever come up in any of the other ten million fights Potter and I had gotten into?

"So, what do you say to a date with a jerk?" Potter raised his eyebrows hopefully.

I rolled my eyes and thumped him on the back of the head.

"When I want to go on a date with John Schroeder, I'll let you know," I said, turning and climbing up the stairs to my dormitory.

* * *

A/N: It'd be awesome if y'all reviewed.

P.S. - I've just finished chapter nine of _Poison & Wine_, if anyone reads that. I like it.


	4. Plain Bagels and Cute Canadians

I went shopping with my friend Caitlin today. We saw some kid get slushied. It was mean.

I thought of Glee.

* * *

The next day, no one seemed to have any recollection of PeePee and Cindie Lou Who except Potter and I. I was surprised Remus and Leigh didn't remember... had they been drinking?

I was sitting at the breakfast table between Brooke and Leigh, who were both asleep with their heads on the table. I alternately poked them in the side with the butter knife. Ellen had somehow gotten grape jam in her hair and was attempting to get the sticky mess out with her fingers, a scowl etched on her face. Black was snoring in his cornflakes and Remus and Pettigrew were nowhere in sight.

"Good morning, Evans," Potter said cheerily, plopping down next to Black.

I stared at him for a moment and then wordlessly returned to my eggs.

"Or not." Potter reached for the bacon.

I didn't answer. I just shoved more eggs into my mouth.

"Today's going to be an interesting say," Potter commented. He was stupid. Obviously I wasn't going to reply.

I prodded Leigh in the side again. She stirred slightly but did not wake up.

Ellen let out a groan of frustration. "Why isn't this coming out?" she shrieked angrily, the grape jam now stuck in more of her hair and all over her fingers.

Potter chuckled. "Here, let me help you with that," he offered. He pulled out his wand and wordlessly vanished the jam. I gaped at him and Ellen muttered her thanks.

I blinked.

"What?" Potter asked, stowing his wand back into his robes.

"You just performed wordless magic," I said.

He looked at me awkwardly. "Um, yeah."

"And you _helped_ someone."

He straightened his glasses. "Um, yeah."

"Someone who is not yourself."

"Yeah... why?"

"I dunno. It's just weird." I stabbed at my eggs and ate them with a confused expression. "You don't usually help people."

Potter laughed shortly. "You'd be surprised."

I stopped eating mid-chew. "Wuss'at supp'd to mean?" I asked through a mouthful of egg.

He smirked. "It's a Marauder secret."

I swallowed and scowled. "Stupid bloody Marauders and their stupid bloody secrets..."

"Hey you guys," Pettigrew said, taking a seat across from James.

"Hey PeePee," I said.

Pettigrew flushed and looked around shiftily. "You know, actually, I'm really not that hungry, so I'll just..." He grabbed a bagel and ran for it.

"We're talking later, Wormy!" Potter called after him.

I pulled my eyebrows together. "Pettigrew eats his bagels plain? Gross."

"I eat my bagels plain," said Ellen. "Is that a problem?"

"No..."

Potter laughed and I glared at him.

"I can't wait till classes start," he said. "Everyone's so hungover. It's hysterical."

I rolled my eyes. "I told you not to have the party on a school night."

"Yeah, but who would listen to you?" Potter said, munching on his bacon. "You're a buzzkill."

"Excuse you," I said dryly.

Potter grinned cheekily at me and I wanted to do nothing more than to push him off Big Ben. We ate in silence for a moment.

I looked around. "Where's Remus?" I asked.

"It's his time of the month."

"Ah, gotcha."

"What?" asked Ellen.

"Nothing, Carte," said Potter.

I finished off my eggs as Black let out a particularly loud snore. Potter flicked his ear.

"Oi!" Black yelped, sitting up. Milk and cornflakes ran down his cheek and nestled in his hair. Naturally, I took this time to point at him and laugh.

"It's go time, Padfoot," Potter said, clapping Black on the back. "Classes are about to start."

Black grumbled something inaudible and attempted to wipe cornflakes off the side of his face. Potter climbed over the bench and stood waiting for Black to get up.

Sighing, I realized it was about time to wake up Leigh and Brooke. I poked them in the side simultaneously with my index finger, and they didn't move.

"Helloooooo?" I said loudly in Brooke's ear. She didn't move. I decided to make up a story to see if she'd wake up. "Brookie, guess what. There's this really cute Canadian here that wants to see you. His name is... Justin Bieber," I invented wildly. Potter sent me an amused look. I flicked him off. "He's a pop star. Justin likes you a lot."

"Give him my card," Brooke mumbled. I rolled my eyes and tried doing the same thing to Leigh. I doubted the same story would work on her though, since she was completely infaturated with Remus.

When she didn't even stir, I groaned and looked pleadingly at Ellen. She shook her head and told me she had to pee (I immediately thought of PeePee... ha, ha) and rushed out of the Great Hall. She was a great friend.

I grudgingly turned to Potter. "Help?"

He smirked. "Do you really need it? I really thought you were going somewhere with that Justin Bieber story."

I glared at him. His eyes danced with mischief.

"Besides," he continued, "why should I help someone who hates me and likes to flip me off?"

"I'm serious, Potter."

"No, I am!" said Black, running his fingers through his hair.

Potter laughed and gave Black a high five. "That never gets old," he chuckled. I wanted to poke his pretty little eyes out.

"Help," I commanded, worming my way off the bench. Brooke and Leigh didn't move at all.

"I got this," Potter said. He held his wand aloft and pointed it at the seat I had just vacated. With another wordless spell, Potter began shooting what I assumed was ice-cold water at Brooke and Leigh. I laughed as they shrieked and cursed, dancing around and dripping water on the floor.

Brooke's shirt was white. Black was staring. She was an idiot. He was a perv.

But at least they were all awake now, along with the rest of the Great Hall.

I was still laughing as I told Potter thank you. He told me I was very welcome and wordlessly dried Brooke and Leigh's clothes for them. They didn't thank him. We went to class together, and I pondered over the fact the Potter didn't ask me out. He had the perfect opportunity. I would have said no, of course, but still.

* * *

The Marauders pulled their third prank of the year that night.

It was Saturday morning, and I was slightly suspicious when no Slytherins showed up at breakfast. After throwing a terrible hissy fit and demanding to know what happened, I eventually weasled the information out of Black after threatening to castrate him with a spoon. He had seemed quite rattled, and told me that someone had Jell-Oed the Slytherin common room.

The Marauders didn't openly admit it was them, but when the Syltherin common room was completely submerged in Jell-O one would just assume. As Head Girl, I naturally went to the dungeons to investigate after breakfast.

Having access to every common room in the school, I marched up to the entrance to the Slytherin common room and stopped short, finding my path blocked my a flimsy red mass of mush. You know, I never really understood Jell-O. Was it a solid, or a liquid? I made a mental note to look it up in the library later.

The furniture was floating in the air, held in place by the Jell-O. I saw a few Third Years suspended in the Jell-O blinking at me, and one fat boy seemed to be eating his way to safety. The rest of the Slytherins were, I assumed, safely remaining in the dormitories.

Could those Third Years breathe? Clearly blinking was not an issue. I assumed they could breathe. I toyed with idea of leaving the Jell-O there and letting Sever - I mean, the Slytherins - suffer, but I decided that it was my duty as Head Girl to get rid of all the Jell-O.

I cleared my throat and tried to Vanish the Jell-O. Nothing happened. I jabbed the Jell-O with the end of my wand, and the entire common room shook. I rolled my eyes in exasperation and tried again. Nothing. I tried Finite Incantartem. Nothing.

I tried all the other spells I knew of to get rid of the Jell-O, and nothing worked. Huffing, I ran a frustrated hand through my hair.

"POTTER!" I yelled, knowing he probably couldn't hear me from Gryffindor Tower. Then again, this _was_ Potter, and I wouldn't put it past him. All the Marauders seemed to have super-sonic hearing or something else weird like that.

"Yes, my lovely Lily?" Potter said, emerging from behind a bust of Salazar Slytherin and shoving his Invisibilty Cloak into his robes. Of course, he had been right there watching me the whole time. Creep.

"What have you done?"

Potter walked up so that he was standing beside me. He cocked his head at me with a smirk. "Why do you just automatically assume it was me who did this?"

"No one else is this idiotic."

"By 'idiotic,' you mean 'genius,' right?"

"No."

Potter _tsk_ed at me and I wanted to punch him in the gut. He reached into the Slytherin common room and grabbed a fist full of Jell-O. He shoved it into his mouth and I resisted the urge to vomit all over the floor.

"This is really quite delicious, Evans, you should try it," Potter said.

I growled at him. "Fix. It."

"Why? Just tell the Jell-O another one of your stories about a Canadian pop star named Justin Bieber and I'm sure it'll drain out in no time."

I glowered at him and told him he would wake up with no limbs tomorrow. He seemed quite rattled. He raised his wand and wordlessly swished it through the air, and suddenly all the Jell-O diappeared. The furniture came crashing to the floor, and the floating Third Years fell into lumps on the floor.

James smirked.

"What spell did you use?" I asked curiously.

"It's a Marauder secret."

"Ugh!" I shrieked, stomping away from the Slytherin common room. "You're incorrigible!"

Of course James caught up with me. "By 'incorrigible,' do you mean 'devilishly handsome?'"

"What I wouldn't give to hex your brains out right now," I mumbled.

"Come on, Evans, you don't mean that."

"You're annoying and I hate you."

We reached the Entrance Hall. Potter grinned, popped me under the chin, and walked off.

Prat.

"Oh, by the way Evans, Moony wants to see you." Potter had turned around and was walking backwards. "He's in the hospital wing."

"Okay," I said. "Why?"

Potter winked at me and turned back around. He walked outside and before I knew it, he was gone. Good riddance.

I hurried up to the hospital wing, passing a couple snogging in a random corner, and walked up to Remus's bed. He was sitting up and reading the July copy of _Quidditch Weekly._

"Hey," I said. "Jam - Potter, his name's Potter - told me you wanted to see me?"

Remus smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Yes, actually. Sit down."

I took a seat in one of the nearby plastic chairs. "So what's up?"

"You're good friends with Leigh, aren't you, Lily?"

I almost rolled my eyes. "Yes, Remus, she's one of my best friends." Obviously.

"Well I want her to be my girlfriend. What should I do?"

I grinned. "Just ask her."

"Ask her? That's it?"

"Yeah. Have you been on a date with her yet?"

Remus blushed slightly and nodded. I knew there was a reason he was my favorite.

I stayed in the hospital with Remus for a while. He asked about Leigh and I told him everything I knew about her. I asked how he was doing after a harsh night and he told me it hadn't even started.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I don't transform the first night," Remus explained, "I just feel ill. The full moon is tonight. I'll transform tonight. Then I'll come back to the hospital wing tomorrow night."

"Where do you go?"

Remus smirked. It reminded me of James. Do all Marauders smirk? "I can't tell you that, Lily."

"Marauder secret?" I asked with a scowl.

Remus laughed and nodded again. "It really bothers you when you don't know everything, doesn't it?"

I grudgingly nodded. I didn't like admitting things like that. I also hated talking about my feelings. It made me uncomfortable.

"What do the others do while you transform?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that, either."

"Why not?"

"It's not my place."

"Then who should I ask?"

"Maybe if you gave James a chance, he'd tell you," Remus said. "He's been planning how impressed you'll be for a while now."

"So whatever it is will impress me?"

"Very much so."

"But I don't want to give James a chance," I said, blinking.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes." I frowned. "Remus, what are you trying to say?"

The young nurse, Madam Pomfrey, bustled up and told Remus it was time for his potions. While the nurse shooed me out of the hospital wing, Remus told me that I'd find out soon enough. I wanted to smack him for being so cryptic.

Bloody werewolves.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful feedback I've received! I hope it continues as I continue to give y'all chapters!

Please leave a review!


	5. Crabs

I'M IN LOVE WITH MODCLOTH. I mean, I've known about it for a long time, but I've just now started _buying_ stuff. Modcloth is my style. Not this American Eagle preppy crap.  
MODCLOTH FTW (for the win... duh).

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Black gave me a lecture about crabs the next day at lunch.

I had sacrificed breakfast for sleep, and apparently so had the Marauders. I woke up around eleven, and Ellen told me that she supposed the Marauders had slept in again, like they seemed to do every now and then.

"They only sleep in when Remus is gone to visit his mum," Ellen had said. "I suppose he's their alarm clock."

The others believed this theory, but I was a bit more suspicious. When we arrived for lunch in the Great Hall I noticed that Potter had a scar running down his arm. Black was walking with a limp, and Pettigrew winced whenever he laughed.

"Why are you limping?" I had asked Black.

"I got mauled by a sea crab," he had responded.

"There are sea crabs here?"

"Yes, Evans, haven't you seen them?"

Black had then launched himself into an explanation of not only sea crabs, but all types of crabs. I ate my lunch ravenously and ignored him.

Cindy Lou Who and PeePee were sitting together a little ways away. I had asked Potter if they were really going to get married, and Potter told me that they weren't, they were just drunk out of their minds. I asked him where Pettigrew got the ring. He said he won it by playing Solitaire against some bloke in the Leaky Cauldron last summer. I had given him a skeptical look, and Potter told me the ring had seven diamonds on it. I had changed the subject, hoping not to give Potter any ideas.

I spent the rest of the day doing next week's homework and completing my Herbology essay that was due next month. Remus returned that night and spent the evening with Leigh outside by the lake. It was starting to get chilly, but that didn't stop Ellen, Brooke, and I from sticking our heads out the dormitory window and spying on them.

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Brooke asked.

The window was not meant for three people to look through. I was uncomfortably smushed between Ellen and Brooke, and my neck was hurting. I could barely see Remus and Leigh, much less hear them.

"Brooke, Gryffindor Tower is the tallest in the school next to the Astronomy Tower," Ellen snapped. Ellen is sass-overload. "Of course we can't hear what they're saying."

The was a wooshing sound.

"What's that?" I asked, trying to crane my neck around. "Did you hear that?"

"It was probably an owl or something," Brooke said.

I frowned and returned my focus to peering down at the specks that were Remus and Leigh.

"Good evening, ladies."

Ellen, Brooke, and I smacked our heads on the top of the window in shock.

"Potter!" I said angrily, rubbing the back of my head. "What are you doing?"

"Spying, of course," Potter said with a grin. He was riding a broomstick and wearing a navy blue jacket that clung tightly to his arms. It made his muscles stand out. I wanted to push him off his broom for being so annoyingly attractive. "I assume that's what you are doing?"

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, but we can't hear anything. What's going on? What are they saying?"

Potter rolled his eyes. "They're talking about school, of course. But as we flew off, Remus was changing the subject to food."

I let out a sigh of relief. Leigh could be awkward sometimes with subjects she wasn't comfortable with. I was glad Remus was talking about things that Leigh could happily yap about.

"We?" asked Ellen, picking up on Potter's word. "Who else is with you?"

"Padfoot."

"What?" someone said. Black. "I heard my name."

"We're talking about how sexy you are," Potter said as Black flew down to hover beside our window. "Right, ladies?"

"No," Ellen said.

"Where's Pete?" Brooke asked.

"With Cindie," Black answered, rolling his eyes.

Black and Brooke started discussing the wonky relationship of Peter Pettigrew and Cindie Whorton, and Potter and Ellen joined in. I squinted my eyes and zeroed in on Remus and Leigh.

Where had they gone off to? They had been there mere moments ago. I could only see one silhouette outlined by the moonlight. The figure shifted for a moment, and I realized that it was not one person, but two.

"Oh, my Merlin," I said, my mouth hanging open.

"What?" Potter said, looking around. "What's happened?"

"They're snogging." I gazed down at the specks that were intertwined beside the lake. "REMUS AND LEIGH ARE SNOGGING!"

Black looked down at the figures and then back at us. He sent us a quick wink. "It was nice talking to you, ladies, but -"

"Duty calls," Potter finished, and they both flew away and disappeared into a tree nearby the lake.

Ellen, Brooke, and I watched Remus and Leigh go at it for a bit longer.

"Are they ever going to come up for air?" Ellen asked.

"They have a year and a half of sexual tension to snog off," I said, laughing.

The three of us pulled our heads back inside the dorm and closed the window. My nose felt cold.

Brooke flopped onto her four-poster with a sigh. "It's about time for them to get together," she said.

I nodded, thinking about my conversation I had with Remus in the hospital wing. I didn't know that it would be this soon, but I was happy for them, all the same. I supposed Remus felt better. I'm sure he had a rough night last night.

I thought about Potter's scar. Were they really stupid enough to try to take on a werewolf while they were still human?

That got me thinking. I sat down cautiously on my four-poster and thought about the possibilities.

Maybe they weren't human? Maybe they used Polyjuice Potion or something to change into cats or something. Maybe crabs. Crabs could take on werewolves, right?

I sighed. That was a ridiculous theory.

Tabs the tabby cat jumped on the bed and curled into my lap. I pet her head absentmindedly as my thoughts trailed off to that Transfiguration essay I had just finished. Tabs meowed and I scratched her behind the ears. McGonagall could turn into a cat. I bet you didn't know that, eh? She was an animagus. It was pretty cool. She could change from a human to a cat whenever she -

I gasped and stood up quickly. Tabs fell to the floor and glared at me (in a catty sort of way, or course) but I didn't really mind.

"What's wrong?" Ellen asked. "Did you forget it was time for your period to start again?"

"What?" I said, confused. "No?"

"Oh. I do that all the time."

"Um, okay, whatever." I grabbed my bag and headed to the door. "I've got to go to the library."

I was out of the dormitory before Ellen and Brooke could say anything. I hurried to the library while I thought things through. Was it possible that the Marauders were animagi? It was magic far more advanced than a Seventh Year could do. If they were animagi, they would have to be registered legally at the Ministry of Magic. There was a book of all legal animagi in the library, but there was only one copy, and I hoped it wasn't checked out. Why would it be? Who would honestly want to read a book of Ministry legals for fun?

If they were animagi that would explain where they go when Remus is transforming. Instead of helping him while they were humans, they helped him as animals. If they were humans, werewolf-Remus would rip them to shreds and have no sense of control over that action at all. However, if they were animals, werewolf-Remus would think of their advances as play, and they wouldn't be attacked. Wounded, maybe, but Remus would be lacking the bloodlust accompanied by the scent of humans.

But what kind of animals were they, if they were animals at all?

Before I knew it, I was striding into the library. I set my bag down at a table and walked to where the official Ministry books were stored. I searched through all the titles on the spines to see if I found the one labeled "Legal." It was magically updated with any changes, so if the Marauders were legal animagi they would be in the book along with the date they registered. All I saw were historical books about the Ministry, and not the one I wanted.

Crap. Someone had it. I leaned against the bookshelf and sighed, feeling my excitement die down.

"Looking for this?" someone asked.

I glanced around to see Ryan Henke holding up a book that read "Legals: Official Ministry of Magic Material."

Ryan Henke was the Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, Keeper. He was in over half of my N.E.W.T. classes, but we never really talked. We often made awkward eye contact in the corridors, but that's about it. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were a friendly hazel color. He smiled at me. He was cute.

"Yes, actually," I said with a small smile, "I am."

He laughed. He was _very _cute.

"I was looking up something for my uncle," Ryan said. "Here, you can have it now." He placed the book in my hands.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Ryan scratched the back of his neck. Potter did that sometimes too, when he was nervous. Bloody hell, why am I thinking about Potter? I mentally slapped myself. "So what brings you to the library so late?"

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Oh, you know." I held up the book. "Just a little fun research."

Ryan chuckled. "You think research is fun? Maybe you should've been in Ravenclaw."

I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, I've asked myself that question many times."

"Why?"

"Because if I was in Ravenclaw, Potter may have left me alone."

"Ah, Potter," Ryan said with a shake of his head. "Wish him my luck with the Hufflepuff match next weekend. Not that he needs it."

"I'll be sure to tell him," I said. "I'll say that you wish he would fall off his broom so that he dies."

Ryan laughed. "This is a message from _me_, not you."

I grinned.

"Hey, what would you say to a date?" Ryan asked suddenly.

I blinked at him. I knew the kid was bold and all, but I wasn't expecting that! He barely knew me, and I barely knew him. But a date would change that, wouldn't it? Besides, I hadn't been in a relationship in a while. Potter tended to scare off any boys who wanted to ask me out.

"Uh," I flustered, "when?"

"Tomorrow?"

"But tomorrow is a school night," I said dubiously.

"Yes, and?"

I rolled my eyes. Did anyone else around here care about school other than me? I guessed not.

I laughed quietly to myself. "Um, sure, a date sounds lovely."

"Cool," Ryan said. "I'll meet you outside your common room around six?"

Smiling, I tucked another strand of hair behind my ear. "Sounds good," I said. "And thanks for the book."

Ryan beamed. "Anytime."

He walked away and I let out a long breath. I was going out with Ryan Henke. Kind of random, but I guess I should have expected it. He could have given me the book and left, but he kept talking to me. I mean, I knew I was a pretty interesting person. I was perfect, or so I thought.

I went back to my table with my bag and opened the Ministry book. I thumbed through it and found the section labeled "Animagi." I scanned through the list, skipping the first several pages with the earliest register dates since I knew the Marauders wouldn't be there. I started searching frantically once I got towards the more recent legals. They weren't there. I didn't see any familiar names except a bloke named Lewis Miller who had graduated a few years ago.

I looked in that book for a little over an hour, searching for the Marauders. They had to be animagi, they just _had_ to be! It explained everything! It would explain the wounds they had after every full moon. I'd always noticed they got hurt after the full moon, but I always thought that was because they liked to beat each other up and Remus wasn't there to stop them. They'd been getting hurt since at least Fifth Year... had they been animagi for that long? Or longer? Were they really animagi at all? Because they weren't in the book. The book never lies. They HAD TO BE IN THE BOOK.

Unless they were unregistered.

I wanted to slap myself. _Of course_ they were unregistered. The Marauders loved to be secretive and mysterious, and they loved to break the rules. Not registering would make them illegal, which, I'm sure, was quite a good thing to troublemakers like the Marauders.

But if they'd been getting hurt since Fifth Year, that meant they had to have been animagi since at least Fifth Year. That's very very very very difficult magic, and they would have had to start learning how to do it around Third Year to be able to master it by Fifth Year.

The Marauders were stupid. Genuises, yes, but stupid. They could have seriously hurt themselves trying to contort their bodies like that!

This was all hypothetical, of course. I wasn't _sure_ they were animagi, but I was pretty damn positive. How would I be able to prove my theory? I assumed I would have to watch them very closely for a while, to discover their habits and mannerisms and all that.

I slammed the Ministry book shut, no where near resolved, and put it back on the shelf where it belonged. Ryan was the last thing on my mind at that point.

I had to admire the Marauders for their loyalty to Remus. They were willing to risk their lives and their health to help him out. I wish I had friends like that. I mean, I had Ellen, Brooke, and Leigh, but I was sure we would never do that for each other. Maybe it was a girl thing. Girl's friendships were different than boy's. But that was beside the point.

The point was, I was one step closer to cracking the secret that is the Marauders.

I knew about the Invisibility Cloak, I knew about Remus's Furry Little Problem, and now I knew the Marauders were animagi.

Three Marauder secrets down, hundreds more to go.

Lovely.

* * *

A/N: Is animagi supposed to be capitalized, like a proper noun? Oh, well.

Hope you enjoyed it, because I'm popping out chapters like the mom on _18 Kids and Counting _pops out babies.

Review.


	6. Sickness

Keira Knightley is the perfect Elizabeth Bennett.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter

* * *

When I returned to the dormitory, I found Ellen, Leigh, and Brooke in what appeared to be a deep conversation with Meg. All four of them were sitting cross-legged on Meg's four-poster and they all stopped talking immediately when I walked in.

"What's going on?" I asked cautiously, walking over to my bed and sitting on it.

"Nothing," Ellen answered, shifting uncomfortably on Meg's bed.

"We thought you were Heather," Brooke said happily. She was always happy.

I slowly slipped off my trainers. "Why were you talking about Heather?"

To my surprise, Meg laughed and answered my question. "She told me she liked Sirius. I actually thought she was a bit of an idiot for telling me, of all people, but that doesn't matter."

Meg scooted over on her bed so there was a gap between her and Brooke. She patted the seat. "Come over here if you want to hear, I was just beginning the story anyway."

I hesitated. I wasn't one for gossip, but I thought we could maybe turn this into a girls' night. You know, with nail polish and chocolate and furry pajamas. We didn't need to stay up late, since it was a school night (even if no one cared but me), but I figured a girls' night with Meg included was in order.

"I don't know," I said, biting my lip and pretending to look indecisive.

"Come on, Lily!" Ellen snapped.

I raised my eyebrows at her and grinned. "_Only_ if we turn this into a girls' night."

Leigh beamed. "With Meg, too?"

"Of course!" I said, laughing.

Meg was grinning. "I've always wanted to take part of your girls' nights," she said, and I immediately felt bad for leaving her out all these years. "My Ravenclaw friends talk about having theirs sometimes and I've never really been involved in one. I guess I never really tried to get to know you guys, though."

"Well, it's good that you know us now!" Brooke said cheerily. "We have lots of fun. You'll like us better than those Ravenclaws anyway!"

I opened my mouth to scold Brooke for her rude statement, but Meg surprised me again by laughing. "I already do!"

I smiled and got the feeling that I was going to grow to like Meg very much.

The five of us changed into our pajamas and spread pillows out in a circle on the floor. In the middle of the circle, chocolates and sweets were scattered around next to the wrappers of those that had already been eaten. I was lying on my stomach between Meg and Ellen and across from Brooke and Leigh, laughing about a joke Leigh had told about a man named Orgly. Meg told us the rest of the Heather-Black story. Apparently Heather fancied the pants off Black last year while he and Meg had been together and tried to seduce him into leaving Meg for her. Black - Sirius - had of course said no and tried to avoid Heather at all chances possible. Being the huge romantic he was, Sirius would never cheat on Meg.

Meg explained that Heather had told her all about her attempts to charm Sirius into liking her.

"I don't know what was going through her head while she told me this," Meg said, chuckling. "I obviously didn't care nor did I want to know, and I especially didn't want to know in detail."

Ellen, Leigh, Brooke and I laughed and poked fun at Heather for a moment.

"Where is she, anyway?" Ellen said in reference to Heather.

Meg rolled her eyes and tossed her long brown hair into a sloppy bun on the top of her head. "She goes off and sleeps with different guys most nights. Last I heard, it was Larry King."

"Ew, isn't he in Slytherin?" Leigh said with a sour expression.

"Hey, that's my owl's name!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Larry King?" Meg asked with a disbelieving look.

"No, just Larry."

"That's an odd name for an owl," Meg commented flippantly.

Brooke laughed good-naturedly. "Lily's cat's name is Tabs!"

Meg raised a brow. "The tabby cat? That's creative, Red. Good work."

I felt my face turn pink, but I found it humorous that Meg already had a nickname for me. "That's what Potter said, too," I said.

"Speaking of James," Leigh chimed, "How is our dear Mr. Potter doing these days?"

Rolling my eyes, I coolly replied, "You would know much better than I would, Leigh."

"Why won't you just give him a chance?" Ellen asked.

I launched into my worn-out lecture about how Potter is a prat and doesn't deserve to walk on two legs with a head as large as his. Everyone immediately began talking over each other to me about how great Potter was and how much he's grown up and how he's really owning up to his Head Boy title.

"I saw him standing up for a Third Year Hufflepuff when he was being picked on by some Slytherins, and James didn't even hex them."

"I saw him taking House points away from some Ravenclaws because they were trying to write graffiti outside the first floor bathroom."

"I saw him asking McGonagall if there was anything he could do to help her - actually taking up responsibility."

"I saw him snogging Kadie Hale in an empty classroom on the fourth floor."

Silence greeted Meg's last statement, and I had a fleeting image of me pushing Kadie Hale off Big Ben. I was immediately sickened by myself: I was sure Kadie was a nice girl who was stupidly charmed into sucking face with a twat like Potter. I shouldn't have wanted to do such a thing to her, so I replaced Kadie with Potter in the mental image and then I felt much better.

"That wasn't exactly helpful, Meg," Brooke stage-whispered so we could all hear her.

Meg shrugged and all of us snorted. Meg seemed like the bitingly sarcastic, extremely independent type, but instead of being annoying she came off as funny. I was upset it took so long for us to get to know her.

"Anyway," Leigh said, "what I'm getting at is you should at least agree to one date."

"No," I said flatly. "Besides, I already agreed to go on a date with Ryan Henke."

All of the girls gasped and covered their mouths with their hands, wide-eyed.

"NO WAY," Brooke gasped.

"RYAN?" Meg said, flabbergasted. "He's like my brother!"

"I don't really know much about him," I admitted. "I just saw him in the library and he asked me."

"He may come off as a bit obnoxious," Meg advised, "but it's only because he's trying to impress you. He's actually very sweet and intelligent once you get to know him."

I remembered having a similar conversation with Remus last year about Potter. I shuddered and listened as Meg spouted off more details about Ryan. Ellen asked when the date was and I told her tomorrow night. She asked where we were going and I told her I didn't know, but I assumed it was somewhere in Hogsmeade. Ellen rolled her eyes and said "duh, of course it'll be somewhere in Hogsmeade," and Brooke and Leigh gushed about how cute Ryan was.

We spent another few hours sitting around, chatting and gossiping about everything under the sun. By the end of the night, I felt very comfortable around Meg, comfortable enough to consider her one of "the girls."

When we ran out of sweets, I glanced at the clock. It said it was nearly one in the morning, and I had told everyone I was sorry to interrupt the fun but we had school tomorrow. Groaning, the girls and I cleaned up our mess and climbed into bed.

Overall, I thought as I wormed under the covers, the girls' night had been very productive. To my surprise, I hadn't even thought about the Marauders and their animagus forms at all throughout the evening. Deciding I would think about it later, I closed my eyes and listened to the girls light banter as we all got comfortable.

Somehow, as we laid in bed with the lights out, the easy conversation had strayed back to Sirius.

"Meg?" Brooke asked, her voice very quiet.

"Hmmm?" Meg said. I heard her roll around in her bed.

"Do you still like Sirius?"

There was silence for a moment, and Meg finally responded. I had to strain my ears to hear, but I caught the answer.

"Yes. Yes, Brooke, I do."

* * *

Meg sat with us the next day at breakfast. She normally sat with her Ravenclaw friends, but she had admitted to us that they weren't really good friends and that she felt more comfortable around us, anyway.

Potter sat down next to me. "Who's the new girl?" he muttered while the grabbed some toast and began covering it in butter.

I rolled my eyes. "She's not new, Potter, she's been here for seven years."

"I've never seen her eat with us before."

"She eats with Ravenclaws."

Why the hell was I explaining all this to James Potter? I hated him. I don't even know why I bothered talking to him on a daily basis when all it did was put me in a bad mood.

"Good morning!" Sirius sang, twirling around himself before plopping down beside Brooke. He didn't even appear to notice Meg while he hummed a tune that sounded very much like "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs" and spooned eggs onto his plate.

I caught Meg's eye and she blushed deeply.

"Hey, wait one moment," Potter said slowly. "Didn't she go out with Sirius last year?"

"Yes, and for that reason you should know exactly who she is."

Potter's eyes darkened and he whipped his head around to glare at Meg. If she was confused at all about Potter's random action, she did not show it as she smiled innocently at him. I was sure it was supposed to be sarcastic.

Potter returned his gaze to his toast. "That's the girl who broke Sirius's heart," he said in a low voice so only I could hear him.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, my voice just as low as his. "She said he broke up with her."

"No, she definitely broke up with him. After their break up, he cr- well, he was pretty messed up for a few days. Weeks."

"Why?" I asked curiously. Meg had told Leigh, Brooke, Ellen and I that he broke up with her because things were getting "too intimate." "What did Sirius say she broke up with him about?"

"She told him that she just wasn't interested in him anymore. She might as well have ripped his heart out and thrown it off the Astronomy Tower."

"Why?"

"Because he loved her!"

"If he fancied her so much, how come you don't recognize her?"

Potter prodded his toast with his knife. "Sirius didn't talk about her much. I thought she was just another girl, but after they broke up, Remus, Pete and I learned that she was a lot more than that." Potter removed his gaze from his toast and looked me straight in the eye. His eyes were quite pretty, I noticed. They weren't just brown, they had flecks of green and gold in them, too. "He tried all he could to get her to notice him, but she never seemed interested. I don't think she ever knew how much he cared about her."

I felt my breath catch in my throat. I looked away and took a sip of pumpkin juice to hide the fact that James's last phrase had made my heart skip a beat.

I set my pumpkin juice down and stood up quickly. "I have to go," I announced. My brain felt fried. I was too confused to even remember to study the Marauder's eating habits like I had told myself I would last night.

"Where are you going?" Ellen asked, eying me suspiciously.

I felt pressured and panicked. "I need to go - er - milk my lampshade. Yeah. Nice chat gotta go bye!"

I all but ran out of the Great Hall and mentally slapped myself for being such an idiot. It wasn't the milking my lampshade part - I could easily blame that on lack of sleep. It was the part about James that had got me, and I hurried up to Gryffindor Tower wondering if we had even been talking about Sirius and Meg at all.

* * *

A/N: I based Meg off of the Meg in _Hercules_. That's how I picture her and that's how I base her personality. Because I'm obsessed with the movie _Hercules_. And _Pride & Prejudice_. And _A Very Potter Musical_.

REVIEW


	7. Change Of Heart

I felt like listening to Angels and Airwaves while I wrote this chapter, so I did. "Clever Love" was a big inspiration for this chapter, though it hardly relates.

Yall are lucky. HPFF only has one chapter up because the queue is so long.

* * *

I avoided James for the rest of the day. In all my classes, I tried to sit on the complete other side of the room so I didn't have to be around him. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but I knew I didn't like it.

"Lily, are you alright?" Leigh asked me at lunch after I made the girls sit on the far end of the Gryffindor table.

I looked up from my chicken and smiled widely. "Yeah, Leigh, I'm dandy," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been acting really weird all day..."

"Hmm." I poked my chicken around on my plate with my fork. "Have I really?"

Leigh nodded and I didn't reply. James - Potter, why was I calling him James - Potter and his friends started walking towards us at the end of the table. Though I had made quite sure I was sitting in between Brooke and Meg so Ja-Potter wouldn't sit beside me, I still didn't want to be anywhere near him until I figured out what was wrong with me.

Brooke stood up and walked over to Sirius, muttering something to him that I couldn't hear. The Marauders all sent curious looks in my direction, but I pretended like I didn't notice them and ate some peas. I was grateful when they turned around and sat somewhere else.

Brooke sat back down and I told her thank you. She said I was welcome and she was always happy to help out.

I had to pee after Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was our last class that day, so I told the girls I'd meet up with them later and ducked into the bathroom.

When I was finished, I washed my hands, gathered my books, and walked out into the corridor.

"Lily," I heard someone call. I groaned and walked faster, hoping that Jam - POTTER HIS NAME WAS POTTER - Potter wouldn't catch up with me.

No such luck. Potter jogged up to me and fell into step by my side.

"Go away, Potter," I said.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" James asked.

I stopped and put a hand on my hip, staring resolutely at a spot on James's forehead.

"That's preposterous," I said. "I haven't been avoiding you."

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, you have. Is this about Meg?"

"What?" I said. I had forgotten about that. "Oh, yes. Sure. Yes, Potter, it's about Meg."

"Look, I'm sorry, Lily, I didn't mean to insult you or anything like that -"

"Why are you calling me Lily?" I interrupted.

James's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What?"

"You called me Lily."

"When?"

"Just now!"

James scratched the back of his neck. "Oh. Well, is that a problem?"

Yes. "No, I suppose it isn't."

"Anyway, I'm sorry about whatever is was I said to make you mad. I don't want it to come between... whatever kind of relationship we have."

I thought for a moment. What kind of relationship _did_ I have with James? Were we friends? I told him I hated him every day (which I do) (I think) but we still did things together. I still talked to him and ate meals with him and sat near him in the common room. My circle of friends and his circle of friends overlapped, and there was no way to escape him.

A voice in the back of my head told me I secretly enjoyed his company. Clearly, that voice was on meth and had no idea what it was saying, so I pushed the thought aside and started walking again.

"Look, James, I appreciate your apology, or whatever," I said, "but I have a date tonight and I really need to get going."

I don't know why I told James I had a date. I could've just said I had to go and left it at that, but I had to include exactly where I was going. I guessed I wanted to give Ryan a death sentence.

"Date?" James asked, walking beside me. "With who?"

I hesitated, but the name spilled out before I could stop it. "Ryan Henke."

Potter stopped walking, but I didn't. He didn't try to keep up with me after that.

* * *

By the time I had returned to the common room, I found I had very little time to prepare for my date. The girls helped me get ready, of course - Ellen and Brooke picked out my outfit, and Meg helped me put on a little bit of make-up while Leigh looked on with interest.

"What's that cream supposed to do?" she would occasionally ask. Meg would explain it was something to put over your eyelids before you put on eyeshadow. Leigh asked more questions than were necessary, but I supposed she only wanted to know so she could one day put it on herself to impress Remus.

Not that she needed to impress Remus. He looked at her as though she were the reincarnation of Merlin... in female form.

Ellen and Brooke had picked out a purple skirt with flowers on it for me to wear. I paired it with a solid white V-neck, slipped on some flats, and I was ready to go. With many "good luck"s and "have fun"s, I walked out of the dormitory and into the common room. I could feel people's eyes on me, probably wondering why I was so dressed up on a Monday night, but the only eyes I really contemplated were James's. Though I didn't look over at him, I could feel his gaze. For some odd reason, my cheeks burned red, and I all but ran to the portrait hole.

I found Ryan with his back to the portrait hole. He appeared to be studying the portrait of the drunken monks across the corridor, and when I cleared my throat he turned around quickly.

"Lily!" he exclaimed. He hugged me, and I felt awkward. "You look great."

"Thanks," I said, studying Ryan's blue button-down. "So do you."

Ryan smiled at me and we began walking down the stairs.

"We're going to Hogsmeade, aren't we?" I asked.

Ryan nodded. "We're going to Madame Puddifoot's - most girls like it there. Is that okay?"

I hesitated. "Erm..."

To my surprise, Ryan grinned and began chuckling at me. "I'm only joking," he said. "We're going to this new place called the Magic Noodle."

"Oooh," I said excitedly, "I've heard their chicken alfredo was to-die-for."

"Well good. If you get that, I'd love to try some."

"Who says I'm going to let you try some?" I said cheekily. He shoved my shoulder lightly and we made easy conversation until we reached Hogsmeade. I was quite surprised the doors had been unlocked, and even more surprised we hadn't gotten caught, but I was glad we made it to the adjacent town without any troubles.

We walked into the Magic Noodle and were seated in a booth right beside the window. It was dark, so I couldn't see outside, but I could see my reflection. I was glad to see that I looked quite cheerful.

Being around Ryan made me cheerful, of course. He was very funny, and he always had a good joke to tell. He seemed endlessly amused with my stories about my friends.

"Did Brooke get in trouble?" he prompted after I paused in my story of how Brooke had once broken into Professor Slughorn's office and stolen his crystallized pineapple.

"Professor Slughorn saw her, but she hid the jar behind her back and he didn't notice a thing!" I laughed, taking a sip of butterbeer. "She's done it about six other times since then, too."

Ryan laughed and stole another bite of my chicken alfredo. I glared at him teasingly and speared some of his delicious steak onto my plate. We'd been eating each other's food all night.

He glanced at his watch and yelped. "Wow, it's so late!" he said with a small chuckle. "I should get you back so you don't get in trouble."

I smiled, and Ryan flagged the waiter down so we could pay. He helped me in my jacket, and on the way back to the castle he tried to hold my hand. I didn't stop him.

Before I knew it, we came to a stop outside the portrait hole.

"Thanks for tonight, Ryan," I said. "I had a lot of fun."

He beamed. "Me, too."

"The restaurant was great."

"The company was better," Ryan retorted with a grin.

"True," I consented. Then I laughed. It was more of a giggle, really. "You're a lovely date."

"You're better." I knew this playful teasing was flirting. I kept giggling. Was I a good flirter? I had never really had much practice since James - Potter - scared away most of my suitors. _Suitors_. What a funny word. "Would you be open to doing this again on Friday?"

I pretended to think for a moment, biting my lip. "Well, it depends."

"On what?"

"We _have_ to go back to the Magic Noodle. I want some more of your steak. That was amazing."

Ryan grinned and told me that of course, we'd go back to the Magic Noodle. He hugged me again, and this time I hugged back. I walked into the common room with a small smile, eagerly anticipating sharing the details of the night with the girls.

I passed the Marauders on my way to the dormitory, and I found it amusing that all four of them had crammed onto the couch. They were guffawing over some piece of paper.

"Get him, Peeves!" Sirius was cheering.

"There he goes - he's stopped!" Pettigrew narrated. "Go, Peeves, go!"

The boys laughed some more and continued cheering on for whatever mischief Peeves was getting into. I assumed they had some dumb drawing of Peeves attacking Filch, so I merely rolled my eyes and hurried up the stairs.

"How was it?" Brooke asked immediately after I walked through the door.

I smiled. "It went well. Ryan's great."

"Where did you go?" Leigh asked.

"The Magic Noodle," I said. I walked over to my bed and slipped off my shoes. "It was a lot of fun."

"Are you going to see him again?" questioned Ellen.

I bit my lip. "Yeah. Friday."

"So soon?" Brooke gasped. "He must really like you."

I laughed but didn't respond. I changed out of my clothes and hopped into bed, exhausted from an emotional day. Was I angry, sad, sick, or happy? I wasn't sure. My feelings of James (hatred, of course) were clashing with my feelings of Ryan. I was confused and nothing in my head was making complete sense, but as I drifted off to bed I found that instead of dreaming about my date with Ryan, I dreamed about my conversations with James.

My last coherent thought before I was completely out was that James might not be so bad after all.

* * *

A/N: I like Ryan. He's a pretty cool kid. I'm eating goldfish.

Please review? Yeah, yeah, yeah.


	8. A Fine Line

I got a 55 on my Chemistry test today. Yikes.

The girl next to me got a 25. Someone else got an 8.

And yes, it was out of 100.

* * *

Leigh and Remus were officially a "thing," as one would call them. They were always together, and they sat next to one another in classes. On normal circumstances, that would have been a great thing - except the new relationship required everyone else to get new seating arrangements.

I sat next to different people every day. In some classes, I found myself sitting next to Ryan. When I wasn't with Ravenclaws, I sometimes ended up beside Ellen or Meg. Once I found myself next to Sirius. Today, however, I somehow ended up sitting on the right side of James in Potions.

"This is new," James commented as both of us began setting up for class.

"Don't get used to it," I muttered.

It was November now, and Ryan and I had been dating for three and a half steady weeks. Things between us seemed to have been going swimmingly, despite the fact that Ryan was occasionally hounded by Peeves. I asked him when that had first started happening, and he told me it began after our first date. I began to think that the Marauders had not really been looking at a drawing that night, but I had no way of knowing for sure.

"Good afternoon, class!" Professor Slughorn said cheerily. A few people returned muted "good afternoon"s, myself among them. James sent me a sideways glace, and I tried to force my cheeks from turning pink. They seemed to have been doing that a lot around him lately. I told myself it was anger and left it at that.

Professor Slughorn explained our task for the day, and I immediately began gathering up the necessary ingredients that I had around my table. I began sliding off my stool to get supplies from the storage cupboard, but James stopped me.

"I'll get it," he said. "You stay."

I was slightly mollified. This was one of the numerous acts of kindness I'd seen James perform throughout the year, and it had started out as being somewhat unnerving, but it had grown on me. I watched James grab two of each ingredient and thought about how much he'd changed throughout the past three months we'd been in school. He was really owning up to his Head Boy duties - not abusing them, as I would have thought - and he was being altruistic and kind to almost everyone, even the Slytherins. He hadn't asked me out since party, which I thought was weird, but I wasn't complaining and I wasn't putting any bets on him, either. He could be having a temporary change of heart and tomorrow he could be back to asking me out every other class.

James hadn't said anything about my relationship with Ryan, which I thought was very surprising. Though he had looked slightly discouraged the Tuesday after our first date, I blamed it on the fact that we had received our marks on our Potions essays that day and told myself James had made a bad grade. After that day, though, James looked like himself again. I found that I was usually quite pleased to be in his company, though I was often quite short and impatient - not with him, but with myself.

"Here ya go," James said with a smile, scattering the supplies out around the table.

"Thank you," I said, reaching for the goosegrass.

"Anytime."

We worked in silence for a moment, listening to the sounds around us. Behind us, Remus was telling Leigh a story and she was giggling quietly in response. In front of us, however, Sirius and Brooke were working together. They seemed to be arguing.

"No, I told you," Brooke was saying heatedly, "the beetle eyes go in _after_ you stir counterclockwise three times!"

"You're doing it wrong!" Sirius shot back just as angrily. "You insert the eyes, stir clockwise _twice_, and then add the frog spawn."

"You're both wrong," I said loudly. They whipped their heads around and looked at me. "You stir counterclockwise twice, add the beetle eyes, _and then _you add the frog spawn."

Brooke and Sirius glared at each other for a moment and returned to their work. James blinked at me, but didn't say anything. I ignored him and continued with my work.

I thought about my next date with Ryan, which was tomorrow. He was taking me somewhere special, he said, and he promised me it wasn't Madame Puddifoot's. I was curious, and eagerly awaiting the event, as I had a new dress I was dying to wear.

"Did you know Professor Doggett was retiring next year?" James asked conversationally.

"No," I said. Professor Doggett was the Ancient Runes professor, and he was quite liked by most of the students because he always strayed off topic and began telling stories about his old job at a cemetery. "Why?"

"He _says_ he misses his family. He is married, after all," said James. "But in my opinion, he's really missing the cemetery, and he wants to return home so he can go visit all of his old mates."

I shoved James in the shoulder. "You're horrible," I said with a laugh.

"You like it," James said audaciously.

"You wish."

"All the time."

I looked over at James and found myself studying his eyes again.

I cleared my throat, reminding myself of my date tomorrow night, and happened to look down into James's cauldron.

"That... doesn't look right," I said, eying the orange mush James was brewing.

"You think?" he muttered sarcastically, running a hand through his hair.

I sighed and said, "Good thing it's easily fixable."

I shifted closer to James's cauldron and began fixing his potion. I added some more water, turned up the temperature, and dropped in some more goosegrass.

"What are you doing?" James asked.

"Helping you. Stop asking questions."

"You never help me."

"That's a lie," I said, stirring the potion until it turned to the light bronze color it was supposed to be. "I've helped you out plenty of times."

"Name one."

I thought for a moment and came up short. "Just because I can't think of anything right now doesn't mean I've never helped you before."

James smirked. Unfortunately for me, I was sitting in just the right spot to see James's dimple perfectly. It made my stomach twinge, but it was only because I hated him so much I was upset that such good lucks had been wasted on someone so annoying.

"Right," James said, the amusement evident in his voice.

I looked down at my cauldron to hide my inexplicable blush. "You're annoying and I hate you," I said quickly.

There was a pause. "Right," James said again.

"Sirius, I can't believe you're being so ignorant about this!" Brooke said loudly. I looked up from my potion abruptly and saw Brooke and Sirius at each other's throat's again, though this time almost literally - the pair were standing so close together their chests were almost touching. Brooke was breathing heavily and Sirius was looking murderous.

"_Me?_" Sirius said, gaping at Brooke. "_You're_ the one telling me I'm doing everything wrong - I'm always doing something wrong! You're never happy!"

"How could you say that?" Brooke practically shrieked, poking Sirius angrily in the chest. "It's not like you even _care_ about what I have to say -"

"That's a lie and you know it!" Sirius interjected furiously. "I care about _everything_ you say, and you never seem impressed -"

"Why should I be impressed with you when all you do is be immature?"

Other people had stopped working to watch the pair argue, and I wanted to tell them to clear off. Ellen and Meg were watching with unreadable expressions, their potions emitting brown smoke. I wondered what Meg was thinking about.

"Immature? That's rich, coming from you!"

"You're incorrigible!" Brooke yelled.

James leaned over to me. "I see she got her vocabulary from you," he muttered. I smiled.

"At least I'm not bipolar!" Sirius said, raking his fingers through his hair.

"I'm not _bipolar_!" Brooke said indignantly. "That's an awful thing to -"

She was cut off when Sirius leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth. There was a fine line between love and hate, I supposed. Just look at me and James for a better example.

Most of the people in the class who had been watching Brooke and Sirius fight looked away awkwardly, but I saw Meg standing there with a shell-shocked expression on her face. She muttered something to Ellen, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door. Ellen vanished Meg's potion and returned to her own, but did not appear as though she was going to go comfort Meg. Leigh was too busy with Remus to follow, and Brooke and Sirius didn't seem like they'd be breaking apart any time soon.

"James, could you...?"

He grinned at me. I forced myself to think of Ryan so James's dimple and smile and eyes wouldn't make me do something stupid, like snog him. Or punch him. "I'll take care of it, Lils," he promised. "You need to help your friend."

I beamed, ignoring the twinge - of anger, or course - in my stomach I received when he called me 'Lils.' "Thanks, James, you're the best!" I packed up my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

"I know, I know," James said, and I waved goodbye as I followed Meg out the door.

I looked down the corridor and there was no sign of Meg.

"Meg?" I said tentatively, my voice echoing off the dark dungeon walls. "Are you here?"

I heard a sniffle and a cough, and I followed the sound to the stone staircase. Meg was sitting on one of the steps with her face in her hands, sobbing.

"Oh no," I said, throwing my bag on the ground and rushing up to sit beside Meg on the step. I gathered her up in a hug and she buried my head in my shoulder.

I didn't pressure her to say anything, but I did rub her back and softly tell her things like "shhh, it'll be okay" and "don't cry, love." I thought about how I would never have had to be in this position if I hadn't suggested that girls' night, but I was glad I was. I wasn't glad Meg was crying, but I was glad I felt close enough to her to be able to comfort her. If this had been a few months ago, I would never have imagined myself in this predicament _ever_, but this wasn't a few months ago, this was now.

And now, Meg was crying. I was helping her. I was glad to be helping Meg, who was crying.

It took a few minutes, but with a massive sniffle, Meg lifted her head from my shoulder. Her mascara was streaked across her cheeks, and I was sure it was on my robes, too, but those were black so it didn't matter.

"You you alright?" I asked gently.

Meg sent me a look that obviously said _no_, but she answered anyway. "I can't believe she would do that. She knew better than anyone how I feel."

I didn't want Meg to be mad at Brooke. "Well, Brooke didn't exactly initiate the kiss," I said. "And I'm sure if she was going to, she would have talked to you about it first."

Meg laughed humorlessly. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

I frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"Most girls are selfish, Lily. They don't think about other people, they just think about themselves." Meg sniffed. "Trust me, I would know."

"Not all girls are like that, Meg," I placated. "Brooke would never do that. She genuinely cares about people. All of us do. Ellen, Leigh, Brooke, and I. You're our friend, and we'd never try to hurt you."

Meg didn't respond for a few minutes. She sniffed and breathed deeply and started wiping her make-up off with her hand before I conjured a handkerchief for her. She took it with a grateful, though watery, smile and rubbed it under her eyes.

"I'm glad I have friends like you all," Meg said after a moment. "It's different, but I like it."

"It's a shame you found us during our last year here."

"Yeah." Meg blew her nose in the handkerchief. "It's nice to feel like I actually belong somewhere, you know?"

"I know what you mean," I said, rubbing my hand in a soothing circle on Meg's back.

"I _thought_ I belonged with Sirius, but I guess not."

I felt awkward. I had never been very good with talking about feelings - someone else's or my own - and so therefore I wasn't necessarily the best at comforting other people when they were upset. I usually left that for Ellen or Leigh.

"Surely you've noticed how close Brooke and Sirius are," I supplied, thinking it would be a helpful thing to say.

Apparently it wasn't.

"So you're taking her side?" Meg asked, flaring up.

I was on my guard at once. "No, of course not, I -"

"I should have known, you all have been together for so long -"

"Meg, stop -"

"And I'm just this stupid girl who comes up whining about Sirius -"

"Meg, STOP!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls around the staircase. "Listen to me. I'm not taking sides. I'm trying to make you see clearly that this was not what you think it was. Sirius and Brooke have been flirting together for _weeks_ now. I'm sure the only reason she thought you were okay with it was because she thought you had seen her and Sirius together and she thought you didn't have an objection."

"Well, I have an objection now," Meg mumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

"This is just a colossal misunderstanding." I sighed. "Please don't be mad, Meg. Not at Brooke, not at me, or anyone else."

"Sirius?"

"No. Not even him."

I stood up, and Meg did as well.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

I pondered her question for a moment. I thought about just going straight up to Gryffindor tower and skipping the rest of the afternoon classes, but then I thought of a better idea. I smiled. "Now, we get James."

* * *

A/N: I go to Disney World for Nationals in 7 days! Wish us luck!

Standings so far for my dance team: 1st competition - 1st place in jazz, 1st place in kick, Highest Scoring routine in kick, 1st place duet, 2nd place ensemble.  
2nd competition - 3rd place in jazz, and 1st place in kick.

Anywaaaay, a review would be lovely! Not much feedback for this story yet, so please drop a comment! Thaaaaaaanks lovies(:


	9. Need

11th place in high kick at Nationals. Pretty good, out of all the teams in the country?  
Pretty good. We were half a point away from Top Ten and we practice in a hallway.  
Yeah yeah yeah.

HPFF only has 2 chapters of this story up. Yall now have nine. Feel lucky.  
It always takes forever to post stories on there because I always get rejected. :(

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter.

P.S. This chapter is only up because** it's Ron Weasley's birthday**. Who cares if it's Justin Bieber's birthday, too? RON WEASLEY FTW HAHAHAHA  
...

* * *

"James?" Meg asked, confused. "Why the hell would we need him?"

I smiled and raised a finger to my lips, telling her to be quiet. We crept up to the Potions classroom, and I saw that I had left the door open. I poked my head in and Meg stayed behind, leaning against a wall in fear that Sirius and Brooke were still going at it.

They were.

"Psssst," I hissed. Pettigrew, who was the closest to the door, looked up from his smoking potion and looked around, but didn't turn around. I rolled my eyes and tried again, and Pettigrew finally caught my eye.

"Evans!" he said in shock. I shushed him and he blushed. I began pointing at James and mouthed "_Get James." _Pettigrew pointed at James quizzically and I nodded. He took some parchment, wadded it up, and chucked the ball at James. It him him square in the back of the head.

"What?" James said, looking around. "Wormtail? Was that you?"

Pettigrew jerked his head towards me and James's mouth opened in shock. He look as though he were about to shout something, but I silenced him and gestured for him to come here.

James casually walked over to me and asked what I needed.

"We need your help," I said.

"_My _help?" James said with a smirk. "Well this is new."

I rolled my eyes. "Please?"

James help up one finger. "Under one condition," he said. I held my breath, fearful he was going to ask me out, but he surprised me by saying, "Can I have this in writing?"

I nearly laughed. "Sure. Whatever."

James grinned and waved his wand at his cauldron. Two flasks were conjured out of his potion and floated up to the racks by Slughorn's desk. Slughorn paid no notice, as he was busy rattling off Ministry officals to Snape.

"Why did you make two flasks?" I asked.

"One for me and one for you," James explained as if it were obvious. I was slightly touched by his thought; I was expecting to get zero marks for the day because I missed class.

"Wow, thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." James walked out the door and passed me. He beamed at Meg, who smiled tentatively back. "Let's go."

I breathed a sigh of relief and fell into step beside Meg and James as we walked down the corridor and up the stairs.

"How do you know where we want to go?" I asked curiously as James led us through the Entrance Hall.

"I'm assuming you want my help breaking in to Honeydukes?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it 'breaking in - '"

James silenced me with a look. I felt my cheeks heat up in anger - it was James's fault I was even _considering_ missing class and sneaking into Hogsmeade. It was all to help a friend, right?

Meg was still sniffling silently, walking with her head down. I saw James sneak looks at her every now and then, but he didn't ask any questions.

He lead us to a statue of a humpbacked witch. He tapped the hump with his wand, whispered something, and the hump opened. He stepped back with a grandiose gesture towards the hump and grinned at Meg.

"After you, my lady," he said. Meg blinked at him, and then she stepped forward to the statue. She used both of her hands to hoist herself onto the statue, swung her legs into the hump, and then she was gone.

"Is this safe?" I asked skeptically.

"Of course it's safe, my flower!" James said happily. "This is how I get out of the castle all the time."

"You really shouldn't have told me that."

James just grinned cockily and I wanted to knock all of his teeth out. "Aw, you're not gonna rat me out."

I sniffed. "How do you know that?"

"Because," James said, taking a step closer to me. I wanted to step back, but my feet wouldn't let me. He was smiling softly. "You've changed, Lily. I've changed, too, you know."

"I know," I said quietly. I found I couldn't tear my eyes away from his face, which was now very very close.

"Do you want to know why?"

I could barely breathe. "Why?"

"You. It's all for you." James's gaze flitted down to my mouth for a split-second before returning to my eyes. "It's always for you."

He was leaning in, and I was, too. I had to stop this, somehow. I _wanted_ to stop this. I hated James. Potter. I hated Potter. Why was I calling him James? Why was I trying to assist him with his work? Why was I asking for his help? Why was I laughing at his jokes? Why was my life and my thoughts so full of him?

Thoughts... what were those again? I could barely think. All I could sense was James, and as he neared I felt my eyes flutter shut.

I _had_ to stop this before it spiraled out of my control. I was with Ryan, and I was happy. He made me laugh and he gave me what I needed. What was it I needed again?

_James, _my subconscious answered for me. _You need James._

He was so close. Our lips were almost touching - three, two...

"Hello?" Meg's voice called from the humpbacked witch statue. "Are you coming? It's really dark down here."

James and I sprung apart. I looked away awkwardly and headed to the statue, swinging myself into the hump just as Meg did. I felt my feet hit dirt, and I let out a long sigh. I hoped that I didn't give James the wrong kind of message. I didn't like him. At all.

He was annoying and I hated him.

But how could I hate someone who is nothing but good to me, and to my friends? I was sure that if I had asked Ryan to help Meg and I, he would have laughed at me and told me it wasn't my problem. He wouldn't have been rude about it, but he certainly wouldn't have helped me.

It was dark in the passage, but I could tell where Meg was by following her sad sniffles. I felt for her with my hands, finding her and hugging her as we listened to James jump down and close the witch's hump. He lit his wand, and Meg and I followed him down the passage. I held Meg's hand.

We walked in silence, the only sound being out footsteps against the compressed dirt. I assumed we were underneath the school, but I had no idea where we were or where we would end up.

It was unlike me to trust someone so blindly like I was doing with James. I could get in serious trouble for this - skipping class, sneaking off school grounds, breaking into Hogsmeade. Plus, I had no idea if James honestly knew where I wanted him to take us. The idea I had in my mind was that he would take us to Honeyduke's to get Meg some feel-good chocolate, because I knew it would help her. I didn't know where the passage led to - were we even going to Honeyduke's at all? Would we wind up near the Shrieking Shack instead? Or on the dodgy road just off High Street?

James was right: I really had changed, and so had he. He never asked me out anymore. Ever. Actually, now that I think about it, he began laying off at the beginning of the year. It's been over a month since he even made some kind of inappropriate joke to me about us as a couple. He hasn't made fun of Ryan, like he had done with some of my previous boyfriends. He hasn't tried to convince me that he was better than whatever bloke I was dating (in this case Ryan), like he had done in the past. As much as I might not want to admit it, James had matured. Maybe even more so than I had.

Meg squeezed my hand, breaking my thoughts, and I squeezed back. I felt so bad for her - she must have been feeling so betrayed. Brooke had no idea that Meg's affection for Sirius was still so deep, and I hadn't, either. If Meg's racking sobs on the staircase earlier were any indication at all, I would assume that she had been in love with Sirius.

I didn't know how to help my new friend in a situation like this. I didn't know how to comfort her, what to tell her, or how to resolve the predicament. There was nothing I could do. She and Brooke would have to work it out for themselves, but for now the only thing I could do was give her chocolate.

"This is a really long passage," I commented, my voice startling James and Meg after the silence.

"It's about to end," James said. "Just up here..."

The passage was expanding - it became taller and wider. Meg moved to stand by my side and James was able to stand up to his full height instead of crouching down to avoid hitting his head. James led us to a wooden ladder that led up to a door situated above our heads. He pushed it open, pushed himself up and looked around.

"Okay," he said, jumping down. "The coast is clear."

Meg used the ladder to climb up. I followed her, and James climbed up after me. We ended up in the Honeyduke's cellar, surrounded by hundreds of boxes.

"This way," James said, leading us up a staircase and through a door. We walked into the sweet shop and Meg immediately went for the chocolate section. I followed her closely, because I wouldn't want her to drown in chocolate or something else equally stupid. I picked out some Pumpkin Pastries for myself, since those are my favorite, and I saw James carrying an enormous handful of Sugar Quills. Meg filled up three bagfuls of chocolate, and I helped her pay for them.

"Here ya go," James said as we were heading back to the cellar. He handed Meg a big blue bag with a smile. Meg cautiously took the bag and opened it while I looked on in interest. Meg pulled out a enormous slab of milk chocolate shaped like a swan; it must have been at least three feet tall.

"Did you buy this for me?" Meg asked, her voice cracking.

James nodded, his smile fading. "Do you not like it? It's just something I thought would make you feel better, so..."

Meg's eyes watered, and she launched herself at James and hugged him. I looked away at the stab of emotion in my chest - I was clearly feeling sympathetic for Meg, because that couldn't have been jealousy. Right?

We munched on our sweets on the way back to the castle. About halfway through, Meg started a rant about how much she appreciated what we were doing for her and how she was sorry she was overreacting. I told her that it was not a problem at all, anything for a friend, and then I told her that she was in no way overreacting, that any girl would have cried their eyes our when the bloke they fancy kisses one of your friends. James just stood off to the side and said nothing, which was a good move on his part because I'm sure he would have said something stupid.

"Thanks again, you guys," Meg said as we clambered out of the passageway. "I needed this."

"It was no trouble," James said, ruffling his hair. "I hope everything works out."

Meg gave him a small smile, told me she'd see me later, and all but bolted to the dormitory. James and I walked slowly back to Gryffindor Tower together.

I watched him walk with his hands in his pockets, his head down, and I wondered what he was thinking about.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" I said.

James looked up and smirked. "Nah," he said, "my thoughts are worth much more than that."

I grinned. "Fine. A galleon."

"Okay." James stuck his hand out. "Pay up, Evans!"

"I didn't know you'd _actually_ make me pay you!" I laughed. "I'll give you a Pumpkin Pastry."

James pretended to think about it. "Okay," he consented.

I gave him the sweet and he admitted that he was thinking about Sirius and Meg.

"It's hard to be sympathetic with her when she's the one who caused my best friend so much pain," James explained. "But I know that she's suffering now. It's good to see that she finally has some Gryffindor friends who care about her."

We had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Thanks for everything, James," I said.

He brushed me off. "No, thank _you_."

I gave him a puzzled expression and he continued, "Thanks for going out and comforting Meg even though you don't know her that well. She needed someone there and I'm glad it was you."

I was touched by this.

"Oh, well, thank you," I said. I smiled slightly. "You know, you're a great guy, James. I've never really noticed before."

"You never noticed because you never tried," James said quietly. He turned to the Fat Lady, told her the password, and went inside without another word to me. I stood on the landing staring at the portrait hole. James's words were echoing throughout my head, and for some reason, I now felt more confused than ever.

* * *

A/N: Bills, Bills, Bills - Glee Cast.  
Great stuff right there. Gold.  
Darren Criss: I never thought I could love you as anything other than Harry Potter... but then Blaine _Teenage Dream_ed himself into the picture.

**review.** that'd be great.


	10. That Was Punny

Wow. Last time I posted in this was two years ago, and for that I am very sorry. I hope this chapter will make sense with the way the beginning of the story is written.

* * *

"How is she doing?" Ellen asked me quietly.

I was sitting with her and Pettigrew on the couch in the common room after dinner that night, silently staring at the fire and attempting to complete my Transfiguration essay. Leigh and Remus sat on the floor in front of us, their schoolwork scattered around their legs. Meg was upstairs in the dormitory shoving chocolate in her mouth at a mile a minute, not speaking to anyone since we had returned from Hogsmeade. James said he had to go to the library. Brooke and Sirius had gone missing for a few hours, shown up at dinner, and then they ran off again. Frankly, I didn't want to know what they were up to. However, Ellen, Leigh, and I felt that her time spent with Sirius was necessary. Merlin knew this had been building up for years now.

In response to Ellen's question about Meg, I merely shrugged. I had told my friends that Meg had simply been shocked by the event, and so I took James out of class to be our escort for chocolate. They didn't ask many questions, and they gave Meg her space. We all decided to pretend like nothing happened.

"Help me," Pettigrew whined, elbowing me and pointing toward his essay. I picked it up and raised my eyebrows.

"'Peter Pettigrew, 7th year, Gryffindor House. _Why the Second Flourish Is Important to the _Rienate _Spell_,'" I read aloud. "Pettigrew, why do you want me to help you? You have absolutely nothing written down."

Leigh giggled as Pettigrew's face turned a darker shade of pink. I handed his essay back to him.

"_Try_," I commanded. "If you still can't figure it out, come find me."

After I made sure Pettigrew was using the textbook to write his essay (honestly, it's as though the Marauders are allergic to the concept), Remus and Ellen began a quiet conversation about Professor Slughorn's most recent exam. I ignored them as I added the final finishing touches to my essay.

I made a triumphant noise, blowing on the ink to make it dry faster. As I was rolling the parchment up, Sirius and Brooke came bounding in through the portrait hole, James not far behind them. His eyes met mine for a brief moment, but then he glanced away and shot a smirk toward Pettigrew.

Although Sirius and Brooke were holding hands, Brooke was biting her lip and searching our group of friends for someone.

"Where is she?" she asked as the three of them walked over to us.

"Upstairs," I muttered.

Brooke nodded and let go of Sirius's hand, sprinting towards the girls' staircase and taking them two at a time. Sirius watched her leave with a familiar lovesick glint in his eye.

Ellen clearly noticed this, too. "You romantic sod," she said, whacking him in the stomach with the back of her hand.

Sirius smiled and winked. "You know how I do it, baby," he said smoothly. Ellen rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to her essay.

James sat down in the armchair nearby and ran his hands through his hair. My stomach flopped uncomfortably, but I convinced myself that it was because I had eaten too much chocolate today.

There was a strangled sound, and I turned toward the noise to see that Leigh was glaring at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius asked innocently.

"You know what," Leigh hissed. "One of our friends is up there crying because of your utter _tactlessness_."

Sirius was quick to defend himself. "I was not being 'tactless' and you know it, we all know –"

"Stop trying to pretend this is okay, you of all people should've known that seeing something like that would make her want to –"

"'Me of all people'? What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You know full well that you're such a –"

"– Don't you dare finish that sentence if you value my manhood –"

"– Ha! As if I care if I hurt your feelings when you're so insensitive to –"

"Stop it!"

Leigh and Sirius stopped bickering and joined the rest of us in staring at James, who was glaring at the two of them.

"Sirius did what came naturally to him, and we all know he and Brooke have been needing to do that for ages." James's eyes flickered to me and then away again. "It hurt Meg in the process, but this isn't about Sirius and Meg, it's about Brooke and Meg. Hopefully, their newfound friendship will be strong enough for them to move on and mend the bond was broken. Or whatever."

I stared at him with my mouth wide open.

"When did _you_ get so wise?" Ellen asked bitingly.

James shrugged. "You were just fighting over something stupid. Meg doesn't need Sirius back, she just needs her friends to be with her while she's feeling this way. Just trust me on this." His eyes flickered to me again, and I looked down at the finished essay rolled up in my hands.

"Erm, right," I said. I stood up from the couch and stretched. "Well, I'm going to go to bed now. 'Night."

Leigh, Ellen, and Remus told me goodnight. James said nothing, he just stared at his shoes like a complete prat, and Pettigrew complained to me about his essay.

"I'm sure Potter can help you," I said, "he's better at Transfiguration than I am anyway."

James shot me an unreadable look, but I tried not think much of it as I walked up the stairs to the dormitory. The hangings around Meg's bed were drawn, but I could hear Meg and Brooke whispering behind them. I was pleased that they weren't yelling at each other or anything crazy like that.

Silently, I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. I fell asleep quickly, but when I awoke the next morning, I found that I had dreamed of James Potter, who had been holding a piece of parchment that rolled all the way down to the ground and was reading aloud to me a list of all the things about him that I had never noticed before.

So by the time all the girls had awoken, I was determined to study not only James but all the Marauders' mannerisms this morning at breakfast. After a long talk with Meg over the tops of the showers, it was clear that Brooke was now closer to the girl than any of the rest of us were. Meg told us that of course, she was not angry at any of us, nor was she angry at Sirius, but she was frustrated with herself for being so weak.

"You are _not_ weak," Leigh said forcefully, her voice echoing off the shower walls.

"Yeah, anyone would have reacted the same," Brooke said. I could hear her smile through her voice. "We're all just lucky that you're so forgiving."

Meg laughed easily. She seemed to have returned to her perfectly at ease attitude overnight.

"Don't worry about ickle boys anyway," Ellen said. "I'd rather fall in chocolate than fall in love, honestly."

"Hear, hear!" I said, and all of us laughed.

After getting dressed into our uniform, the five of us wandered down to the Great Hall for breakfast. James and Remus beamed at Meg as we sat down beside them, and Sirius smiled shiftily at her. Well, it was a start.

I was sitting beside James, so that I could more easily creep in on the Marauders' conversations and watch them without causing too much suspicion. I began buttering my toast casually as I racked my brain for a conversation starter.

"So…" I said, "Did you boys hear about the Tornadoes completely crushing the Cannons last Wednesday?"

Immediately all the Marauders began talking over one another.

"Of course they pummeled them," Remus said scornfully, biting into his bagel forcefully. "How did the Cannons stand a chance when the Tornadoes have a Keeper like Michael Meadows?"

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Michael Meadows is a dolt. Every move he saves is based completely on luck!" He shook his hair out of his eyes and spooned some cornflakes into his mouth.

"That save Williamson made though," piped up Pettigrew, blinking quickly as he spread some shredded cheese over his eggs. "You can't deny the Cannons don't have good Chasers when they've got someone like that."

James, who had been listening patiently while his friends spoke, suddenly said, "Yeah, but those two Beaters the Tornadoes have – Kyle and Brunner. They make quite the pair."

"Practically unbeatable!" Remus chimed in.

"UNBEATABLE!" Sirius exclaimed. "HA! That was punny. Good one, Moony."

Pettigrew rolled his eyes. "Anyway, the Cannons have never lost that badly before. Maybe they were just having an off game."

"Hmmm. Maybe," Sirius consented. He was now attempting to shove three pieces of bacon into his mouth. In the process, he caught Brooke's eye, and winked. Brooke sent him a disgusted face and returned to her conversation with Leigh and Meg.

"Pete, I think you've got enough cheese on your eggs for now," Remus said slowly, moving the plate of shredded cheese away from Pettigrew before he could get more.

Pettigrew nodded and his eyes flickered over to me. He had noticed that I had been watching them. "Oh, right," he said.

"So, Lily, what did _you_ think of the match?" Remus asked me politely.

I shrugged. "The Tornadoes deserved it, I think. They've been training a lot harder this year than the Cannons, and I agree with Potter that the Tornadoes Beaters are outstanding."

James raised an eyebrow at me. "Of course, the only thing we can agree on is Quidditch."

I laughed. "I learned from the best," I said, remembering that James had been the one to explain it all to me.

He obviously remembered this too. He was looking at me with a quizzical expression, as though trying to make me understand something that, to him, seemed very simple. Of course, I couldn't form any kind of coherent thought when he was looking at me like that. Curse him and his stupid pretty eyes. I was going to gouge his eyes out with a pair of acorns and then give the eyeballs to Professor Slughorn for class.

Wow, that insult was particularly violent. Oh, well. Potter deserved it. Stupid, attractive, Quidditch-teaching, overly-patient git.

"Oi," Sirius said suddenly. James turned to look at him. "Stop bouncing your knees like that, mate, you're making the table shake. You know I hate it when you do that."

Sure enough, James's habit of bouncing his legs was causing the contents of my flask the quake. I raised a brow at this, filing all the characteristics that I had learned from this conversation into my mind for future studying.

"Sorry," James said. The four Marauders shot quick looks in my direction and then returned to their food.

I furrowed my eyebrows at this, about to open my mouth and begin another long conversation, but I was interrupted by the arrival of Ryan.

"Hey," he said, leaning down to kiss me on the cheek. I blushed and tried to keep my gaze away from Potter. "What are you doing later?"

I picked apart the crust from my toast and didn't meet my boyfriend's eye. "I dunno," I said slowly.

Ellen, who had, thankfully, been watching my face once Ryan wandered over, suddenly said, "It's girl's night, so we'll be stealing Lily all day. Sorry."

"Girl's night _again_?" Brooke complained loudly. Ellen shot her a look and Brooke abruptly changed her tone. "This is _great!_"

"Yaaaaaaay," mocked Sirius in a high-pitched voice, "it's giiirl's niiight! G.N.O. ladies, let's get naked!"

Leigh shot a glare at him and I sent Ryan an apologetic expression. "Sorry," I said, "but duty calls."

"Aw, but you girls steal my Lily all the time!" Ryan said to my friends, laughing. "Not that I mind, you give her excellent stories to tell, but share a little bit, please!"

I sensed James tense next to me. I glanced at him, and he quickly tried to arrange his face into a nonchalant expression. His knees began to bounce again.

"I'm _sorry_, Ryan," I said forcefully, "but I've got other plans. Maybe some other night."

Ryan held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Fine," he said, smirking easily. He reached over me, grazing his hand along my left shoulder as he made to reach for the fruit basket on the table. He probably thought he was being seductive or something, but all I could think about was the fact that his hand just ran over those seven freckles on my shoulder that made the smiley face – the ones only James knew about.

Ryan snagged an apple, smirked, and said, "See, ya, Lil."

As soon as he was out of earshot, I sighed and said, "Thanks, Ellen. I owe you one."

"No problem," she said, smiling kindly. "But if he's annoying you, you should probably break up with him."

I was opening my mouth to explain that Ryan wasn't usually like this, that this new persona had only started appearing within the past week or so, when suddenly James shouted "_Anteoculatia!"_ and a great burst of dark light shot from the end of his wand.

Ryan, whose back had been to the Gryffindor table and who had been walking innocently out of the Great Hall, immediately sprouted two enormous antlers that emerged from the crown of his head. Unaccustomed to the added weight, Ryan began stumbling around on his feet and then fell head-first into a crowd of Hufflepuffs, who screamed and dove out of the way.

"WELCOME TO MY WORLD, HENKE!" James was yelling in the midst of all the commotion, laughing loudly at his own handiwork. "INNIT PEACHY?"

Remus frowned, shushing his friend with an imperative expression. "What on earth were you thinking, Prongs?" he demanded, shooting another quick glance at me and the girls.

James stopped laughing and looked at me guiltily. "Oops?" he said, raising his shoulders and looking at me innocently. He looked kind of cute when he did that, so of course I yelled at him for it.

"POTTER!" I roared furiously. "THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU HAVE HEXED ONE OF MY BOYFRIENDS, AND IF YOU THINK FOR A SECOND THAT THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS ACCEPTABLE THEN YOU SHOULD TURN IN YOUR HEAD BOY BADGE TO DUMBLEDORE _RIGHT NOW_!"

Sirius was still guffawing at Ryan as his friends helped him out of the cluster of Hufflepuffs and up to the Hospital Wing. "'Innit peachy,'" Sirius repeated, wiping the corners of his eyes. "Ah, atta way, Prongs…"

I stood up furiously and grabbed the nearest thing I could reach – the fruit basket. I picked up the first thing my fingers came to and chucked it as forcefully as I could at James's head. The fruit, which happened to be a peach, made a sick crunching noise as it collided with James's glasses. I smirked triumphantly and stormed out of the Great Hall, but not after hearing Brooke laugh and say, "Peachy… HA! That was punny. Good one, Lily."

* * *

Cheesy, yes, but better late than never I suppose.

Thanks to Potterholic1999, this story is updated and once again in the works. Big thanks to her and to the talented synthetic musician Drehz for all his wonderful inspiration.


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